With You
by Sux2budude
Summary: Stacie and Donald's lives throughout the year
1. Chapter 1

Title: With You

Pairing: Donald/Stacie

Summary: Stacie and Donald's lives throughout the school year.

Author's Note: I have no idea where this story is headed, but I'm just winging it. This fic is for my friends, who just absolutely LOVE Stacie and Donald. I hope you guys like this chapter. This is only the beginning. Thanks to everyone who are about to read this, and please review if you have time.

* * *

_**Chapter 1**_

* * *

She stares at the back of his head. His dark hair, perfectly curling up at the front, and the back of his hair sticking out at an odd angle. She can't seem to understand why she's staring at him in particular. It's not like they've said a single word to each other since the Riff-off, but she can't help it. The way he had looked at her and nodded when she sang to him. His dark eyes squinting intensely at her through the lenses of his glasses, and that annoyingly cute smirk on his face. She wanted to do something to wipe the smirk off his face, but she figures that if she went through with what she had in mind, Aubrey would have an aneurysm, and then she'd kick her off the Barden Bella's group after having her vocal cords ripped out. (Aubrey was not kidding about the whole "No sexual or intimate encounters with the 'enemy'" thing.)

Stacie huffed loudly and tore her eyes away from the back of _his_ head. He was laughing at something Bumper was saying. She doesn't know why he even hangs out with Bumper, who's a total douchebag, and needs to have his ego deflated with a sledgehammer.

They were all in the cafeteria. The Barden Bella's all sitting together at one table, while the Treble Makers huddled around the other table. They didn't acknowledge each others existence, save for Bumper who would turn to look over at Fat Amy who was glaring at the carrots on her plate. Aubrey had made her go on a special diet to try and pull down her weight, but everyone else knows for a fact that it wouldn't work. Not when every time Aubrey left the cafeteria, Amy would just stand up and get herself six slices of pepperoni pizza with extra cheese. The pile of grease made Stacie feel queasy, but she usually wants to barf whenever Amy starts eating it and eye humping Bumper from across the table. It was gross… and highly disturbing.

Stacie stabbed the tomato on her plate. She doesn't know why she's feeling so… glum. She was interrupted from stabbing the other parts of her salad by his voice as he starts talking animatedly about the frat party that half the school was invited to. Stacie sighed softly and subtly glanced over in his direction. He was now sitting sideways on the bench so that he was straddling the bench, and she could see the side of his face. He was cute… okay, maybe more than cute. At that point, he glanced at their table, and their eyes met for a second… _Fine, he's hot!_

He blinks and the corners of his lips lift, but before she could smile back, Aubrey nudges her and she goes back to staring at her salad.

* * *

There was a frat party tonight at one of the Sorority houses, and the accapella groups were always invited to those because somehow the groups were a popular thing on campus. Stacie usually loved parties, but tonight, she just wasn't feeling it.

She planned to stay in her dorm room and just do some homework because she's behind on it. Just as she's about to call the others and let them know that she won't be going, her phone rang. She sighed when she saw Aubrey's name flashing across the screen on her phone, and she immediately knew that something was up. Aubrey never calls anyone of the Barden Bella's unless it has something to do with the Accapella.

"Hello?" Stacie asks into the receiver.

"We got another gig." Aubrey says, jumping straight to the point.

Stacie stays silent and waits for Aubrey to deliver the punch line. "All Bella's should be present tonight at the Frat party. We'll be performing, and showing off our vocal skills in front of the Treble's." And there it is. The only reason Aubrey is so obsessed with winning was because she _hated_ the Treble makers. Every. Single. One of them, down to the last soul.

Stacie knows for a fact that Aubrey would never let her hear the end of it if she doesn't show up, so she agrees. "I'll meet you guys there."

Aubrey answers with a short "See you tonight." and hangs up. Stacie groaned and tossed her phone on her bed. With Aubrey's boring-ass song choices, she's _not_ looking forward to messing up in front of the Treble's. Especially when _he's_ going to be there.

SD-

* * *

The house was packed by the time the Barden Bella's arrived. Stacie spotted the Treble's bus already in the parking lot on their way in, and immediately searched the parking lot for them.

There he was, leaning against a red Ferrari, talking to some blonde bimbo who was merrily clinging to his every word. Stacie looked away, and ignored the sinking feeling in her gut. The Bella's are here to sing, and that's it. After that, she was free to go back to her dorm room and watch a sad movie while eating a Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice-cream, straight from the carton.

-SD-

Their gig went a whole lot better than their last one. At least they harmonized and were able to match pitches, whereas before they all sang different notes. The song they sang was still boring, but at least they didn't get thrown out of the frat house even though 99% of the people there pretty much dozed off during their gig.

Stacie quickly filled her cup with some booze and headed towards the parking lot. She didn't want to stay in the frat house any longer than she had to, and she was just ready to leave already. She was hoping to catch Amy so she could get a lift to the school before the others decide to leave, but Amy was nowhere in sight.

Stacie took her time gulping down the cheap booze, and hurriedly walked through the crowded parking lot. She couldn't help but glance over to the red Ferrari where she had seen him standing earlier, and she almost wanted to jump up and down and do a victory dance when she saw the blonde bimbo standing there by herself, puking her guts out onto the sidewalk. She kind of felt bad that the blonde girl was alone and puking all over her own shoes, but… well, at least_ he_ wasn't there holding the girls hair up and consoling her.

Stacie looked around the parking lot, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone she knew who owned a car so she could maybe get a lift to the school, but there was no one around. No one she knew, anyway. After nearly ten minutes of looking around, Stacie sighed in defeat and decided to just walk to the school. It wasn't really that far anyway. She didn't like walking alone, and she was thoroughly scared of walking anywhere at night in mini shorts and a low cut sweater, but she'd much rather be inside her room than at this party.

-SD-

* * *

She was maybe halfway to school, when she comes up to a noisy alleyway. She speeds up a bit, hoping and praying that the drunk hobo's won't notice her walk by, but her luck pretty much sucks. She hears them calling out to her to slow down. It only makes her walk faster. "Hey, baby! why don't you come and have a little fun with us?" one of them calls. She doesn't glance back, but she hears a lot of footsteps behind her. She estimates at least six or seven of them. "Oh come on, we won't bite!... Not yet." Another one calls and they all burst out laughing.

She doesn't slow down. If anything, she walks even faster until she's jogging. She hears the shuffling of their footsteps, and they seem a whole lot closer than before, and she doesn't think twice as she breaks out into a run. Her heart is hammering inside her chest, and her breath fogs up the air in front of her, and she doesn't stop. She keeps running, but one of them catches up to her. She doesn't have time to scream as a hand clamps over her mouth, and a bunch of hands circle around her body, as they haul her back towards the alleyway. She kicks and squirms, and tries to scream, but they already made it back there. She could feel her tears streaming down her face as they push her against a wall. One of them, steps up in front of her and gives her a toothless grin while the others hold her arms and legs still. She squeezed her eyes shut, and prays to all that's holy that this was just a nightmare. But somewhere inside her, she knows it isn't, and this is the end for her. She was going to get raped by a bunch of ugly, smelly, drunk hobos, and her body was going to be left there to rot.

She feels a hand slip up her shirt, and she begs them to let her go. They only start laughing in her face.

Just as she's about to give up hope, and just let herself just die already, a cars headlights turn into the alleyway. The engine roars loudly, and the hobo's instantly let go of her. She slides down the wall and pulled her knees up against her chest, sobbing the whole time as she watched the car speed up towards the hobos. The car managed to run into one of them, sending the hobo into the air, and landing about twelve feet away, while the others all scramble away and make a run for the other side. The guy that got hit stood up and limped away pretty quickly.

She doesn't see who her savior is because the headlights are shining straight into her eyes, but she does see his silhouette as he runs after the hobo's. His voice is really familiar as she hears him swearing loudly at the hobo's. "THAT'S RIGHT! RUN, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!"

She's shaking, and she's sobbing, and then she feels her saviors arms wrap around her shoulders. He whispers something into her ear, and she only cries harder. He gathers her up into his arms, and slipped them behind her knees before lifting her effortlessly off the ground. She immediately buried her face into his neck and breathed in his scent as she continued to sob.

When she opened her eyes, she finds herself staring into his bespectacled eyes. He's looking at her worriedly, but his jaw is twitching. "Are you okay? They didn't hurt you, did they?" he asks as he pulls the seatbelt around her and snapped it into place.

Stacie doesn't say anything. She just shook her head and stared at him through her tears. It's _him_. Donald. _He's_ her knight in shining armor.

"Let's get you out of here before…" he trails off and he looks like he's having difficulty saying anything more. He shakes his head and looked away. "I'm sorry." He apologized and gave her another worried glance before stepping away and shutting the door.

The two drive in silence, and a few minutes later, they're parked in the school's parking lot. They both just stare straight ahead, neither of them bothering to break the silence. Suddenly Donald turns and looks at her. Stacie turned her head to see him staring intensely at her face. "Are you okay?" he stops and looks away, cursing under his breath before looking back, "That's a stupid question; of course you're not okay."

Stacie wants to just lean forward and kiss him for rescuing her tonight, but she was still shaken up. "Thank you." She manages.

He nods and turns back to look out the windshield. "We should probably head inside." He says a moment later.

* * *

Stacie expects him to ask her for directions to her room, but he just keeps walking to his dorm. She stops in her tracks, about to walk in the direction of the girl's dorms, but his hand gently slides down her arm, and wraps around her hand. "I'm not going to let you sleep alone tonight."

Stacie raises an eyebrow at him.

He adds softly, "I'll sleep on the floor, and you can have the bed. Seniors have their own room."

Stacie is about to protest and tell him that she won't let him sleep on the floor for her, but he's already pulling her along with him. She likes the feeling of his warm hand around hers, and she can't help the smile forming on her lips.

Maybe tonight doesn't have to end up terribly after all.

* * *

-SD-

Author's Note: This story was written for my friends, who absolutely LOVE Stonald. I love them too. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter. Please review and let me know if you'd like another chapter or not. I fully intend to update, but the better the results, the speedier I update. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Title: With You

Pairing: Stacie/Donald

Disclaimer: I don't own jack… Don't own Pitch Perfect either, but I'm pretty sure everyone here knows that.

Author's Note: Hello everyone! First off, I want to thank you all for the wonderful and beautiful reviews. Thank you also for reading. I really appreciate it. This chapter will pick up right where chapter one left off, so yeah. I'm thinking of making this a huge story. This is my first Pitch Perfect fanfic, so don't kill me until I'm done writing it. As for the story, I hope you all like this chapter. Please review!

* * *

-DS

* * *

_**Chapter 2:**_

* * *

Stacie opened her eyes slowly, and found herself staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. Her room ceiling is white, and she's looking up at a dark blue ceiling. She quickly shut her eyes again and counted to ten before opening them again, hoping that she was just imagining this. She's not exactly surprised to find that she was indeed, not in her own room. She kept her eyes focused onto the ceiling as her hands roamed from her sides, over to her body, hoping and praying that she wasn't naked under the warm soft covers. She let out a soft sigh of relief when she feels the soft fabric of her sweater on herself. She loves sex and everything, but she made a promise to herself this year, that she would try to actually get into a relationship instead of just having one-night stands.

She closed her eyes again and tried to remember the events of the previous night, to find out how exactly she got into someone else's room without having sex with them. It might've been another girls room, and she was too drunk to remember crashing there, but… Her thoughts shoot straight to Amsterdam when she hears a low, husky groan from somewhere on her right side. That was definitely not a sound a girl would make.

"Fuck."

Stacie tensed up when she recognized the voice, and suddenly, flashes of the previous night flooded into her mind. She remembers walking to school from one of the frat parties, and then she was nearly…

Stacie's trail of thought stops there abruptly and she felt shivers run up her spine. She had nearly been raped by a bunch of hobo's in a dark alleyway, and then Donald showed up and saved her. He drove her to school, refused to let her sleep alone after what happened, told her that he'll help her find the sick rapists in the alleyway, and even offered her his nice, warm, comfy, soft, bed, while he crashed on the hardwood floor.

A thought crossed her mind, and she resisted the urge to groan loudly.

_I probably look like a zombie right now, and I most likely have bed hair, and…_

"Did you sleep okay?" Donald's voice interrupted her thoughts, and for a moment, she's tempted to pretend to stay asleep so he'd go into the kitchen or something and she can maybe run into his bathroom and make herself look a bit more presentable, but she has a feeling he already knows she's been a wake for a while, so she slowly opened her eyes.

He's standing by the bed in nothing but his green plaid boxers, and he's squinting at her without his glasses. She hopes she looks blurry to him right now because she's blushing like crazy. He certainly has a nice body, and… he's waiting for an answer.

"Umm—Yeah. Thanks." She manages.

_How does he look so damn good in the morning after just waking up? Even his hair looks good. Like some invisible fairies have been curling his hair while he was sleeping last night. Stacie notices the slight grimace on his face as he nods and backed away slowly while trying to subtly rub a spot on his back, but failing because his form is rigid._

Stacie felt terrible for sleeping on his bed and making him sleep on the hard cold floor. She could've invited him to sleep on the bed with her, but… Well, she was in shock last night, and she was absolutely tired, so she must've just knocked out cold the moment her head hit the pillow.

"That's good." He smiled a bit and squinted down at the ground.

"Umm—are you looking for something?" she asked as she slowly slipped out of his bed.

"Yeah, could please help me find my glasses? I left them next to me, but I don't exactly know which part of the floor I fell asleep on." Stacie immediately spotted his glasses by the foot of the bed and crouched down to pick them up.

"Sure. After everything that you've done for me, the least I could do is help you with these." She completely forgets that she's been hoping he doesn't see her with bed hair, and she finds herself getting lost in the dark brown chocolate pools that are his eyes. His eyes are beautiful. Like chocolate.

_I love chocolate._ She muses.

He doesn't move as she stepped up towards him and gently slipped them over his eyes. It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust, and he blinks a few times before focusing on her eyes. A tiny smile slides onto his face, and Stacie can't help but blush a little bit more.

She hopes he won't hold back whatever he's feeling, and it looks promising when he leaned forward a bit. Just as Stacie was about to lean in the rest of the way, they were interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Stacie practically jumped and stepped back.

Donald turned away and glared at the door, hoping to all that's holy that whoever was there would just go away. He's completely annoyed when there was another loud knock on the door.

"I'll be there in a sec!" he called out. He turned back to Stacie who was straightening up her clothe.

"Could I use your bathroom?" Stacie asked.

"Sure." He pointed to a door on the far right side of the room, and Stacie gave him a smile before heading towards the bathroom.

As soon as she closed the door behind her, she went straight to the sink and washed her face. She hopes whoever was knocking would leave soon so she could leave too and shower before she has to go to class. Stacie's eyes widened.

_CLASS! I'm gonna be late if I don't leave soon._

She cautiously opened the door, trying very hard to be quiet as she peeked around the door. What she saw, made her heart sink to her stomach.

Standing by the door, was the blonde bimbo from last night, with her arms wrapped tightly around Donald's head, and her lips latched onto his. Stacie immediately closed the door and took a deep breath. She knew she likes Donald, but… she didn't prepare herself for this kind of feeling. It felt like a kick to the gut.

Stacie was contemplating just going outside and leaving right away, or maybe just jumping out the bathroom window. She started towards the bathroom window, but stopped when she heard yelling.

"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

"Well, I can't do this anymore!" Donald's voice floated through the door.

Stacie hurried to the door and pressed her ear against it.

She could barely hear Donald's low voice, against the blonde girls' loud panicked yells.

After a few moments of absolute silence, Stacie heard a door slam. She wasn't sure whether she should go outside right now, or just wait in the bathroom until Donald decides to check up on her.

She figures she should just leave. She's a lot of things, but she's not a boyfriend snatcher. She opened the door slowly, and peeked around the door again, only to nearly have a heart attack when she came face to face with Donald.

"Oh… Hi. I umm—I should go, I have a class in a few minutes." She says cutting straight to the point. Anything she thought would work between them has been shot to hell. He's taken, and that's that. No need to dwell on something that isn't hers, and she should just move on. She gave him a wry smile and headed to the door, but then she felt his hand on her arm.

She turned and gave him a questioning look. He looks a bit confused, and Stacie isn't sure why.

"I uhh—Can I see you again?" he asks softly.

It takes a moment for Stacie to process what he's saying. His eyebrows are knit together as if in total confusion. She wishes she knew what was going on in his head right then. "I don't know… what about blondie?" she asks wryly.

He grimaced and looked away. "She's… She's no one."

"You make a habit of making out with no one?" She doesn't mean to sound bitter, but she's seriously disappointed about the abrupt turn of events. And that day had only just begun!

"She was just a onetime thing." Donald explains. "Apparently, she doesn't get that."

"So you want to see me again, so you and I could have this onetime thing too?"

Donald actually looked genuinely hurt by Stacie's accusation, and she almost feels bad; but she had promised herself, that she won't do one night stands, and she plans on keeping her promise.

Donald scratched the back of his head nervously before looking straight into Stacie's eyes. "Do you know why I was the one to find you last night?"

Stacie blinked. "You were on your way to school and saw a bunch of guys hauling a girl into an alleyway so you stopped by to help?"

Donald blinked twice. "Umm—well, No… I mean yes, that's what happened, but… I was there because I was looking for you."

Stacie stared at him and nodded for him to continue.

"I saw your performance last night, and after that I tried to get away from the Treble's, but it wasn't easy… So when I did get away, I went looking for you. That's when I bumped into Becca, and she told me that she thinks you went back to school with someone. I didn't really know what to do, but I wanted to make sure you got here safely, so I drove over. That's when I saw a bunch of guys hauling someone into an alleyway. I didn't know it was you until they ran away."

Stacie can't explain the absolute joy flowing through her veins right then. She just needs to ask one thing. "Why did you go looking for me?"

Donald grinned. "After the Riff-Off, I couldn't stop thinking about you."

Stacie can't help but blush because that was exactly what happened to her after the Riff-off. She couldn't stop thinking about Donald.

"I—I didn't thank you properly for saving me last night, and letting me sleep in your bed." She said, feeling a bit shy.

Donald shakes his head. "You don't have to thank me. I'm glad I was there."

Stacie thanked him anyway. She leaned up on her toes and placed a lingering kiss at the corner of his mouth. When she pulled away, he was smiling widely at her.

"I really have to get to class now. " she says as she glanced over at Donald's Avengers alarm clock. She has half an hour to get ready and go to class.

She says a short good-bye and headed towards the door, but stopped and turned back.

Donald is still smiling.

"You wanna have lunch with me?" he blurted out.

Her smile grows wider than his, and she nods. "It's a date."

* * *

Stacie left Donald's room, feeling a whole lot better. The terrible incident that nearly happened last night, had brought about something really good.

Maybe everything happens for a reason. Maybe bad things can lead to good things. Maybe she can finally have an actually have a relationship with someone, and not just a one-night stand. And maybe, just maybe, she'll date Donald.

* * *

Author's Note: Hey! This concludes chapter 2… let me know what you think, and whether I should add another chapter or not. You can also add a suggestion, a request, or an idea. I'll explain some of the confusing parts in the next chapter. Thanks to everyone for reading. Special thanks to all the reviewers! Love you all for reviewing this story. I promise I'll update soon if you want.

Sux2budude-


	3. Chapter 3

Title: With You

Pairing: Stacie/Donald

Author's Note: Hey everyone! Well, this is chapter three, and I really hope you like it! I want to thank everyone for reading, and a special thank you to all who have reviewed the story! I really really really love you all for your wonderful reviews! If there are any errors, I apologize for that. But enough of this rambling of mine… Enjoy, and please review if you have time! Thanks again!

...

* * *

_**Chapter Three**_

* * *

She's nervous, but she's not exactly sure why. It's just lunch, isn't it?

No… It's not _just_ lunch. It's lunch with Donald. A Treble Maker. The "enemy" of the Barden Bella's… or so Aubrey says.

Stacie could not believe how much her life has sucked in the short period of 24 hours. Yesterday she was feeling crappy, and tired. Then she had to go to a frat party that she didn't even want to go to, but went anyway because Aubrey would kill her if she didn't show up. Then the Bella's had to sing such a boring song in front of a bunch of people she didn't even know, while everyone and maybe even herself had fallen asleep for the majority of their performance. And then she had to walk back to school because she couldn't find a ride. And then she was nearly raped in a dark, smelly alleyway by a bunch of sick whackos. And then…

Stacie skimmed over the only part of the past 24 hours that _didn't_ suck. The part where Donald showed up and saved her, then took her back to school, and wouldn't let her sleep alone in her own room, and then offered her his bed while he camped out on the cold, hard floor. Stacie sighed softly as she applied a bit of mascara onto her long lashes.

She was seriously annoyed with Aubrey. Just as the day was about to get good, Aubrey had to go and mess it all up by reminding the Bella's of their vocal cords being ripped out by wolves if they're caught with a Treble. Yes, it was important to Stacie that she stays in the Barden Bella's, but… well, finding someone she actually likes, and genuinely likes her back for something more than just sex, is rare. She wanted to know more about the guy with the glasses, and the perfectly curled hair, and the perfectly tanned brown skin.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her phone rang from her bedside table. She hurried over and stared down at the unknown number flashing across the screen of her phone. She usually never answered unknown numbers, but she answered it anyway out of curiosity.

She's extremely glad with her decision when she heard the familiar, deep voice of none other than Donald. "Hey." He greeted.

Stacie smiled into the receiver and slowly sat down on the side of her bed. "Hi." She shyly greeted back. She wanted to ask him how he got her number, but decided to ask him that later. It would give her something to say in one of those awkward silences.

"So umm—are we still on for that lunch?" Donald asked softly.

Stacie's smile grew wider and she bit her lip to keep from squealing out a loud "YES!" instead, she tried to sound nonchalant with a short, "Sure."

"Cool… Umm—do you want me to pick you up from your room?"

She wanted really badly to say yes, but if someone on the Barden Bella's found out about Donald picking her up from her room, Aubrey would eventually find out, and she'd get kicked out of the Barden Bella's. "Maybe we can meet at your car?" Stacie suggested.

"Sure."

There were a few moments of silence where they just listen to sound of each other's breathing, before Donald cleared his throat softly. "See you in ten?"

"See you then." She answered.

She hung up and sighed dreamily. She really hopes Aubrey doesn't find out about this.

...

...

* * *

Their lunch went by fairly well. Stacie had thought that Donald would take her to a café or something, but instead, he took her to a really expensive restaurant. He was the perfect gentleman, opening the car door for her, opening the restaurant door for her as well, pulling out her chair and waiting for her to be seated before sitting down, and taking the time to listen to her ramble about her classes, and the Barden Bella's. They ate and had a perfectly great conversation. There were no awkward silences or any bad topics, except for when he had asked her if she wanted to find the guys in the alleyway from last night and press charges against them. Yes, she wanted to put them away for what they nearly did to her, but she didn't want to see a single one of them. Other than that, their lunch was, in Stacie's opinion, Perfect. Donald had even declined her offer to split the bill, and threatened to make her walk to school if she ever offered again. It was truly sweet of him, and all in all, everything went way better than she had expected.

After lunch, she thought Donald was going to take her back to school. Instead, he took her to the park, where he took her hand and pulled her towards one of the park benches.

"What are we doing here?" she asked curiously.

Donald shrugged, "Don't you just relax after having lunch?"

"Relax?"

Donald nodded, "Yeah, relax… it's when you rest or engage in an enjoyable activi—,"

She cut him off with a light smack to his arm, laughing as they both plop down on the bench. "I know what it means."

He laughed harder before calming down a bit. "You just don't have time for relaxation?" he asked quirking his eyebrow.

Stacie shrugged and stared at the little kids flying their kites in the park. "Never really needed it."

Donald gave her a weird look. "Never needed relaxation?" he asked in mock disbelief. "What's wrong with your life?"

Stacie giggled when he turned his head and stared at her with wide eyes. "Oh stop, I just… I just don't see the point in relaxing, when you have a billion things to worry about." She pointed out.

Donald clapped his hands together and pointed at her. "There it is!"

"There what is?" she asked confusedly.

"We found what's wrong with you."

Stacie rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "And what exactly is wrong with me?" she asked wanting to find out what he thought.

"You worry about too many damn things." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You need to find one day, at least every week, to just let go of all those problems, and just let loose… stop worrying, and just relax."

"That's what parties are for."

Donald snorted, and shook his head. "No… parties, are for fun; Entertainment. Finding someone to take back to your room. Relaxation, is about freeing the mind, spirit, and body, and letting yourself just… be."

Stacie blinked at Donald. "What are you talking about?"

"Relaxation!" he said in disbelief.

"Like meditation?"

"No, Rafiki, relaxation is…" he paused for a moment and stared at Stacie for a few seconds before grabbing her hand. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Stacie asked as Donald pulled her away from the park bench.

"We're going to class."

"What?" she asked incredulously. _Is he really taking me to a class? After having lunch with me? And what class is that?_

"Class… It's called _Relaxation 101… _and you're instructor is pretty hot."

Stacie couldn't believe he had just said that. Yes, she's been on numerous dates with assholes who kept checking girls out in front of her, but Donald had just flat out said that her instructor for said Relaxation 101 class, is hot.

She tried not to fume until he stopped abruptly in the middle of the park and turned around to face her.

"Okay," he said and pulled her down on the grass. She followed and sat down facing him. "Welcome, to Relaxation 101… I'm your instructor, Professor Donald. Please follow my lead."

Stacie burst out laughing at that. She had seriously thought that he was really taking her to some stupid class called Relaxation 101 with an actual instructor, but now she finally gets his joke. She grinned widely as she looked him up and down. Her instructor is indeed, very hot.

He smiled over at her. An actual smile, and not a grin, or a smirk. A real, Donald smile. Stacie smiled back and they gently laid back together.

Donald spoke a second later. "Step 1: Close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Step 2: Clear your mind, and let your surroundings take you."

"Oh geez, this really_ is_ a class, isn't it?" she asked with a little groan.

Donald chuckled and propped himself up on his elbows. "Well, considering there are only two steps in the entire class session, yeah. Mid-term is in a few minutes, so close your eyes, and just relax."

Stacie slowly obliged, her eyes fluttering closed, as she tried to let go of all her worries. A few seconds later, and she felt like she could lay like this forever. She suddenly wondered why she had never taken the time to do this. And then she wondered why relaxing wasn't a part of her daily routine. And then..

"Oh my greatness, I can feel your thoughts from here." Donald murmured.

Stacie's eyes opened and she turned her head to look at Donald. His eyes were still closed, and his face looked absolutely calm, and relaxed. Right then, she couldn't help but admire his extremely good looks. The way his face looked so relaxed, and the way that tiny smile made its way up his lips, and the way the faint sun shined over his still frame. It was one of those The-light-striking-his-features-just-right kind of moments. She didn't realize she was leaning towards him until she saw his lips forming a smirk, and she immediately blushed and pulled away to lie back down.

After nearly ten minutes of absolute silence and relaxation, Donald finally sat back up and cleared his throat. Stacie's eyes snapped open and she sat up next to him. He suddenly looked nervous, as he ran his hand through his hair, making it stick up at an odd angle. It was totally hot in Stacie's opinion.

"I think we need to work on your relaxation techniques." Donald said with a sheepish grin.

Stacie quirked an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

Donald nodded, "Oh yeah, you've just gotten yourself a C-minus."

Stacie giggled at that, and stopped abruptly. She's noticed that she had only started giggling in the past few hours. She shook the thought away and folded her arms across her chest. "I believe my relaxation technique was perfect."

"Well, your hot instructor just gave you a C-minus." Donald said with a wide grin.

Stacie opened her mouth to protest, but Donald cut her off.

"How about we get together again sometime soon and work on that technique of yours?"

Stacie couldn't help but blush when she finally realized what Donald was trying to do. "Is that your way of asking me out?" she questioned curiously, trying hard to keep her excitement out of her voice.

Donald smiled sheepishly at his shoes. "Maybe."

Stacie smiled shyly and bit her lip. "Then maybe I'd like to officially enroll in your class, Professor Donald."

Donald's head snapped up and he stared at her for a few moments before a huge smile made its way up to his face. "Maybe tomorrow?"

Stacie tried to hide her happy grin. She wanted to jump up and down and squeal in delight, but refrained from doing so. Firstly, that would be embarrassing, and secondly, she would never do that in front of Donald. Not yet, at least. "Maybe dinner?" she asked.

"Maybe a date." Donald stated with a giddy smile.

…

* * *

...

When Donald dropped her off at the front of her dorm, Stacie thanked him, and kissed him on the cheek. The smell of his aftershave, and another scent that she couldn't quite distinguish, but absolutely loved, was intoxicating somehow, and she didn't want their day to end, but there was always tomorrow.

They separated to get ready for their next classes. Stacie walked up to her room with one thought in mind.

_Maybe today is only the beginning of something absolutely special. And maybe, just maybe, Donald is her something special._

_..._

* * *

-DS-

* * *

Author's Note: End of chapter three! Yay!. I know most of the lines were absolutely cheesy and sappy, but I like my Donald and Stacie with a little bit of sugar… sorry if that's not your style. Anyway, thanks for reading, and stay tuned for chapter four. There will be a time jump for chapter four. Thanks for reading, and please review!

-Sux2budude


	4. Chapter 4

Title: With You

Pairing: Donald/Stacie

Author's Note: Hello again, first off, I want to thank you all for your beautiful reviews. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much for reading as well. This is chapter 4 of "With You", and I really hope you like it. Thanks again, and please review.

* * *

_**Chapter Four**_

* * *

…

* * *

...

"Hey, this is Donald. I can't answer right now, so leave a message after the beep."

_BEEEEEP!_

Stacie sighed as she flopped down onto her bed. She had been trying to reach Donald for the last half hour, but she had absolutely no idea why he wasn't answering her calls.

"Hey, it's me… I uhh—I've been trying to find you today, but you weren't anywhere. I'm kinda worried, so… call me when you get this." Stacie hung up and chucked her phone to the end of her bed.

It's been a month since they've been dating… (Secretly, of course). Donald wasn't exactly ecstatic about keeping their relationship a secret, and neither was she. She wanted to be able to walk around school with him, hold his hand in public, and kiss him whenever the hell she wanted to. But life was so damn unfair sometimes.

They've gone out on dates far away from the school, and they would meet up at night. Sometimes, she'd sneak out and spend the night with him in his room, or on other times, Donald would be the one to sneak over to her room, after making sure that Stacie's roommate was either asleep, or sleeping over at her boyfriends dorm room.

Needless to say, the past month was hands down, the best time she's had since… ever. But, she didn't like the idea of keeping her relationship with Donald a secret. Yes, on their first few dates, there had been a thrill about secretly dating a Treble Maker, but now?… Now she just wants to be able to be close to him whenever and wherever she wants. That can't happen though; what with Aubrey's ridiculous _No Treble banging _rule.

Stacie hugged her gigantic fluffy pink teddy bear to her chest and sighed. She was exhausted from school, and practice. She had no idea that singing required running up and down the bleachers in the school gym.

Stacie took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and slowly cleared out her thoughts. The whole relaxation thing with Donald had turned out to be really helpful when she was frustrated, or stressed out. Stacie's lips slowly formed a grin as her thoughts floated back to a few weeks ago, on the day of her fourth date with Donald.

* * *

(FLASHBACK)

* * *

…

Stacie closed her Chemistry textbook and stuffed it inside her backpack, before hurrying to the door. She was so damn glad that class was over. She was never a fan of science, and beakers, and chemicals that could explode in your face. Chemistry was just never her thing.

Stacie didn't really pay attention to where she was going, until she was yanked into a bush, and a hand clamped down on her mouth.

Stacie initially lifted her left leg and kneed the intruder in the groin. The hand that was over her mouth disappeared, as she pushed said intruder off of her and scrambled to her feet, completely prepared to scream for help if need be.

She was shocked to see Donald, lying on the ground, groaning in pain, and clutching his crotch.

Stacie's eyes widened as she immediately dropped down to her knees. "OH MY GOD! I'm so sorry!" she cried as she tried to help him sit up. Donald was trying hard to breathe in a lungful of air, but it seemed like he was failing badly. Stacie had no idea what to do, as she pulled his upper body to lean against her as she sat back on her heels. Donald groaned once more before squinting up at her.

"You have a powerful knee there, Kung-Fu Tiger." He chuckled as much as the pain allowed him.

Stacie blinked back her tears, feeling horrible because she had nearly castrated her boyfriend of three whole weeks. "I'm so sorry." She whispered into his ear.

He only chuckled as he stared up into her face. "Don't be… it's good practice for defense against future jerks who might try to snatch you away."

Stacie shook her head and ran her fingers through his soft, silky hair. Her eyes trailed down his arms and down to his hands where they were still over his crotch. She pulled her eyes away and stared at his face.

"Why the hell were you hiding in a bush?" she questioned.

Donald chuckled softly. "Can't a guy surprise a girl every now and then?" he asked.

"Surprise, yes…"Stacie said. "_You_, nearly gave me a heart attack."

He stared back at her and smiled cheesily. "You've probably ruined my chances of ever having children someday." He whispered hoarsely.

Stacie rolled her eyes and placed a gentle kiss against his forehead. "I haven't. You'll still get those someday… Now we should probably get some ice on that." She nodded towards his crotch.

Donald nodded as she helped him up and they headed towards his dorm room to find some ice.

* * *

…

* * *

...

It was 12 noon, and Stacie could not believe that Donald was already okay from earlier when she had kneed him in the groin. Now, two hours later, they were eating freaking FRIED dough!

"Ughh…" Stacie groaned through her mouthful of dough. "This is sooo good, but it's sooo gonna go straight to my ass." She muttered as she glared down at the deliciously evil dough.

Donald snickered as he looked her up and down appreciatively.

He was already on his third fried dough, and he's already eaten two corndogs, and a deep-fried snicker. She has no idea how he eats so much, and still manage to have such a well built frame. She sighed as she stared back at the fried dough in front of her.

Donald groaned as he pushed the last piece of his fried dough away from him and got up, patting his stomach. "Wanna go on the rollercoaster?" he asked suddenly.

"Are you serious?" Stacie questioned incredulously.

Donald chuckled, "No… I have a weak stomach."

Stacie glanced at his the piece of fried dough on his plate and then back up at him. "Could've fooled me."

* * *

…

* * *

...

They spent the next hour playing little games here and there, until they came to a stop in front of a _Cross Bow Shoot _game.

Stacie saw it there. The cutest, biggest, most fluffy pink teddy bear she had ever seen at a fair. "It's so cute!" she squealed.

Donald was taken aback as he narrowed his eyes viciously and scanned the booth for whatever Stacie thought was cute, ready to incapacitate whatever it was. Donald's eyes followed her line of sight and found himself staring up at a gigantic pink ball of fur. "It's a…" he trailed off as a thought struck him. "what is it?"

Stacie giggled as she slipped her arm around his and pulled him closer to the booth. "It's a teddy bear." She smiled widely as they got closer. It was even cuter up close.

Donald looked back at Stacie and caught the look of pure amazement on her face. He loves that look on her, and he found himself wanting to do whatever it took to keep it on her for as long as he could.

He paid for a chance to play for the stuffed pink bear. Stacie had of course, told him to just leave it, knowing full well that these game booths were made for the benefit of the game operator, and not the game player but Donald simply refused to leave without it. Stacie tried a few more times to try and get him to just let it go, but Donald was determined to get it.

Four tries, ten minutes, and half his wallet later, Donald finally hit all of his three targets. He had spent nearly five minutes doing a victory dance which Stacie thought was even cuter than the pink teddy bear. The game operator unhappily got the gigantic teddy bear down from its place on the shelf and handed it to Donald.

Stacie giggled as he did one more victory dance with the pink teddy bear, before grinning widely and gently giving it to her. Stacie couldn't help herself as she launched towards him and kissed him deeply.

It was by far, the most fun she's had in a few days.

* * *

(End Flashback)

* * *

…

* * *

...

Stacie's thoughts were rudely interrupted by a loud knock at her door. She groaned as she got up off her bed, pulling her teddy bear with her. She pulled the door open to find Donald standing there, with a sheepish grin on his face. "Hey." He greeted shyly.

Stacie grabbed him by the front of his shirt and quickly pulled him inside before someone saw him.

"Where've you been?" she asked curiously.

Donald smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I was at an interview."

Stacie blinked confusedly, "Interview for what?" she questioned.

Donald smiled and pulled a piece of paper from the back pocket of his dark jeans and handed it to her.

Stacie opened the piece of paper and read along the first few lines before staring wide-eyed at her boyfriend.

Donald is a double major in Business and Music, currently interning for a music producer in town. Every evening, Donald would take over the studio and play his very own music. Stacie had heard his music before, and it was amazing. His rapping was always fresh and catchy, and by the looks of the papers in Stacie's hands, her boyfriend had just landed himself a permanent job in the music studio, and a contract to be signed with the studio itself, to officially produce his own music.

Stacie squealed in excitement and launched herself into his waiting arms, hugging him fiercely. "Congratulations!" she cried.

Donald grinned sheepishly and tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. "Thank you…" he trailed off for a while, and he just stared into her eyes. Stacie found herself going still, as she stared back into his own.

It's there… Behind the lenses of his black rimmed glasses, inside his eyes. Stacie saw something that seemed to pull her inside and refused to let her go.

She's felt this way once before… it's a whole lot stronger with Donald, but it's somehow alike. Two years ago, she had felt something like this for another boy. But every single time she had looked into the boys eyes, she didn't like what she saw. She saw danger, and carelessness. Hesitance and hopelessness.

But here? Standing here with Donald, and staring into his beautiful dark eyes, she saw hope, faith, and trust. She saw something she had never allowed herself to hope for.

Two years ago, she didn't allow herself to fall into the depths of the other boys eyes. The moment she felt like falling, she retreated and she ran. She ran, and she never looked back.

Now, two years later, she finds her someone special. She finds a guy who not only cares for her, but also treats her like she was the center of his world.

It's then, that Stacie knows its time for her to make a decision.

She stared into Donald's eyes, seeing all sorts of emotions pass through them. She saw happiness, care, hope, faith, trust, and love. She saw everything she wanted to see, and she finally let go of her walls. The walls that she had spent the majority of her years perfecting. The walls that she would throw up constantly.

She let them tumble down around her, and for the first time in her life, Stacie let herself fall. She knows just by looking into Donald's eyes, that no matter what happens, he would always be there to catch her.

Donald's lips parted as he leaned down towards her, brushing his lips against hers gently. It was a soft brush… nothing like their previous kisses, but in that one kiss, Stacie felt her entire body tingle.

She smiled against his lips and pulled away. Donald was grinning to himself, eyes still closed, and fingers intertwining with hers.

"Wanna go eat?"

Stacie nodded. She didn't realize she was hungry until Donald asked. "Meet you in the car?" she asked.

Donald rolled his eyes, but nodded and placed a chaste kiss on her lips before disappearing out the door. It's their routine. They always sneak out one by one. For the sake of keeping Stacie in the Barden Bella's, Donald agrees to sneak around until its completely safe to leave the place together.

Stacie threw on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and headed for the door.

"Tonight should be fun." She murmured as she too, disappeared out the door.

-DS-

* * *

…

* * *

Author's Note: I know, its kinda confusing and way too cheesy. But I like them as this sweet couple sprinkled with lots of sugar… anyways, I'm thinking the story needs a bit of drama to mix it all up… Give your opinions… should chapter 5 be fluffy, angsty, dramatic, or just sweet and sugary?.. thanks for reading, and please review! I really do appreciate it.! And I'm planning on posting another Stacie/Donald fanfic... it's a little plot that's been invading my mind for the past week.. so what do you guys think? should I write a new Stonald- story, or should i just finish this one first?- Review and let me know!

-Sux2budude


	5. Chapter 5

Title: With You

Pairing: Stacie/Donald

Author's Note: Hey guys! Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. I loved them. It's what keeps me writing these chapters. Anyways, this chapter will be angsty and dramatic. There will be anger and jealousy, and sadness, and disappointment, and few things that you might hate, BUT bear with me, because it'll always end well, with fluffy, sugary, sweet, cheesy moments…. In the end. So I apologize beforehand for this chapters sadness, but do not worry! It will end well… thanks for reading, and please review.

...

* * *

_**Chapter Five**_

* * *

…

For two months, Stacie and Donald had managed to keep their relationship a secret. It wasn't easy, but they managed well.

Aubrey had _almost _caught them in the back of the cafeteria two weeks ago, but Stacie had played it cool when Aubrey looked at her suspiciously, and then at the bushes behind her, which Donald had jumped into. From there, they were a lot more careful. They were able to spend time together at night, or in between classes, and it went smoothly…

Up until the beginning of their third month as a couple.

* * *

…

Stacie was extremely excited when they made it to the Semi-finals of the Acapella group competition, thanks to Amy and her lively on-stage stripping.

To celebrate, Aubrey announced that the Bella's were invited to _another _Frat party, and allowed them to just be there for the party, and not to sing another one of her boring songs.

The Bella's prepared themselves for a night of fun, which Stacie was even more excited about, since Donald had texted her earlier and told her that the Treble's were going to be there (Of course).

Stacie got dressed, putting on a pair of skinny jeans, and a light blue sleeveless ruched shaper tank top. It was tight on her skin, but she planned on stealing Donald's jacket tonight, even though she doesn't plan on staying at that party very long. Stacie smiled at her appearance in her mirror and pulled her hair up into a ponytail, applied some light blue eyeshadow, and a bit of mascara, before grabbing her purse and making her way to the door.

* * *

…

Stacie grinned giddily when they pulled up in the Barden Bella's bus, in front of the party house. She could see the Treble's all huddled around the front of the house, and Donald was sticking out like a sore thumb in his leather jacket, and dark black jeans, against the bright red shirts and sweaters that the other Treble's were in.

She smiled when she saw his head turn slightly towards their bus, a smirk planted firmly on his handsome face. She wished she could just walk over to him and kiss him to her heart's content, but Aubrey sucks for a lot of reasons, and so that can't happen without her getting kicked off the Bella's.

The Bella's exited the bus, one by one, each with little smiles on their faces. Just as Stacie stepped off the bus, Aubrey stopped her before she could take off with the others.

"I'm onto you." Aubrey said sternly.

Stacie blinked at the blonde girl. "Uhh—what?"

"I know you're up to something with one of those Treble's… who is it? Bumper? Unicycle? Jesse?"

Stacie's face scrunched up in disgust. "What the hell are you talking about?" she asked, trying to play it off cool, but she was feeling really uncomfortable, and scared that Aubrey might find out about her and Donald, and she'd get kicked off the Bella's.

"I know something is going on with you and one of those lowlifes." Aubrey said flatly. "End it before it starts." With that, Aubrey walked away towards the party.

Stacie took a few calming breaths before heading inside the house. "Too late." She muttered under her breath.

She bumped into a few guys who tried to hit on her, but she blew them all off. She wanted really badly to just leave this place with Donald, but she couldn't find him anywhere.

She had a few drinks and danced along with everyone else, had a short conversation with Chloe, before she grabbed another drink.

It's been an hour since they've been there, and Stacie has had enough. She just wanted to find her boyfriend, and take him back to school with her, so she could do what she's wanted to do all day to him.

Just as Stacie started towards where the Treble's were grouped together, she caught sight of Aubrey watching her closely. Stacie stopped in her tracks and changed route, speeding towards a different direction. She pretended to laugh at something a huge bulky guy was saying to someone else, and stood next to them for a few moments. She glanced back at Aubrey, to find that the blonde's eyes were still narrowed towards her, as if to say,_ I know what you're doing._

Stacie knew she had to do something to throw Aubrey off her trail, but it would have to be something big, or Aubrey won't believe it. Stacie looked around for something that could give her an idea as to what she should do, when a tall blond guy walked up to her and tried to hit on her.

Stacie initially backed away, prepared to yell at the guy to take a hike, but then she looked over in Aubrey's direction, to see the blonde girl _still _watching her, with narrowed eyes, daring her to turn the guy away. Stacie knew that if Aubrey sees this blonde guy walk away from her, Aubrey would be even more suspicious, and she would stalk her for the rest of her college life until Aubrey graduates. Stacie would never be able to see Donald without a private investigator to watch for anyone who might be watching.

Stacie looked up at the guy, seeing his lips moving, but no word coming out. Or at least, words were coming out, but they never made it past her ears because she has no intentions of listening to any of his bullshit.

She pretended to laugh at whatever the hell he was saying, watching from the corner of her eye as Aubrey continued to watch her while sipping slowly from her red plastic cup of booze.

"You wanna get out of here?" The blonde guy suddenly asked. Stacie blinked up at him. She put on a fake smile and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I uhh—I promised my friend I'd drive her home after the party." She murmured.

The guy looked disappointed, but continued to stand there awkwardly.

Stacie chanced a glance in Aubrey's direction and sighed in relief when she saw the blonde turn away to talk to a tall guy with dark brown hair. Thank God!

Stacie grinned and turned to leave, but suddenly, the blonde guy leaned forward and kissed her. She was_ so_ taken aback by his actions, that it took her several moments to react.

When she realized what was going on, she shoved him away, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand in disgust. She immediately turned her back on him, prepared to leave this hellhole, but she stopped dead in her tracks. Her heart sank , and her stomach dropped to her feet when she saw Donald looking straight at her. His eyebrows were pulled together in confusion, his eyes sad, and his shoulders sagging a little. She took one step towards him, but he turned away and headed towards the door.

Stacie prepared herself to run after Donald, but a hand around her wrist stopped her.

"I guess you're _not_ in anything serious with a Treble." Aubrey stated before letting go of her wrist, giving her a wry smile, and walking away.

As soon as Aubrey's back turned, Stacie took off towards the door. Her heart was beating wildly against her chest, and her eyes stinging with tears. She couldn't _believe_ she let something like this happen. She got outside and searched the parking lot frantically while she fought back the urge to burst into tears. She tried calling Donald's phone, but it went straight to voicemail. Stacie tried not to panic, but she was failing badly.

One thought made it to her mind_. Donald was probably heading back to school, and she has to catch him and explain what really happened._

Stacie glanced around the parking lot, and again, like that frat party nearly three months ago, she couldn't find anyone she knew.

She didn't think twice as she took off into the dark, cold night, headed towards the school. It wasn't very far from the frat party, and it was much closer than the other frat houses.

Stacie continued to jog, her long legs working hard to get her to school as fast as possible without tripping over her own feet. The alcohol was slowly seeping into her brain. Stacie glanced around her, feeling a bit paranoid. She stared ahead as she continued to jog, and she felt her stomach flip when she saw a bunch of men standing in front of an alleyway.

Stacie continued to jog, hoping and praying to God that they would just let her pass. Just as she made it up the first alleyway, a cars headlight shined from behind her. She ignored it until it pulled up next to her. She glanced at it nonchalantly, only to find Donald staring back at her through the window, a hard frown etched across his lips.

"Get in." he called.

Stacie didn't need to be told twice. She got in, and buckled her seatbelt, before Donald's car went speeding towards the school. Stacie stared at him the entire time, wondering if he was more mad than hurt, or more hurt than mad.

"Donald," she began, her voice shaking. "I'm—,"

"What the heck are you doing, Stacie?" he asked sharply cutting her off.

"Donald, it's not what it looked like," she began again.

"Stacie, you know that it's never a good thing for a girl to walk alone in the front of an alleyway full of drunken assholes!" he bellowed.

Stacie stopped and blinked at him. "What?"

"Why the hell are you walking home? After what nearly happened a few months ago, you still want to walk home?" he asked incredulously.

Stacie was beyond confused now. Wasn't he mad, or jealous at all?

"I wouldn't have left the party if I knew where you were!" she said sharply. She decided to turn this against him.

Donald didn't say anything. His jaw twitched and his knuckles were turning white from where his hands gripped the steering wheel tightly.

As soon as he parked his car, he got out and walked away towards his dorm room without another word or backward glance.

Stacie didn't think too much of it as she followed him. "Donald, wait!" she called. She felt relieved when he stopped, but her stomach churned when he turned around. His fists were clenched, and his jaw was tight as he stared hard at her.

"Why?" he asked.

Stacie held back the tears because even though he looked absolutely angry, his eyes showed hurt and sadness. Betrayal, and disappointment.

"Donald, it's not what it looked like."

He rubbed the side of his face with one hand. "What exactly did it look like, then?" he asked. His voice was hard, yet soft at the same time. "Because from what I saw, a girl and a guy making out, is exactly what it is… It's a girl and a guy, making out."

Stacie shook her head wildly. "No! No, it isn't… Aubrey was watching me, so I was—,"

"So you kissed him to throw Aubrey off?" he asked in disbelief.

"NO! _He_ kissed me! I was just taken by surprise, and it's not like I kissed him back. I _didn't_ kiss him back. I pushed him away, and I came looking for you!" she cried.

Donald breathed heavily through his nose. He was silent for a few moments, and he squeezed his eyes shut, before opening them again. "I—I don't really know if I can do this anymore, Stace."

Stacie's breath hitched in her throat as she stared at him in disbelief. "Wh—what?" she asked in a barely audible whisper. _What is he doing?_

"I don't know if I can keep up this secret." He murmured softly. His eyes were so full of hurt, and his voice shook just a tad bit, but Stacie could see how this was taking a toll on him.

"Donald, don't do this." She whispered.

Donald hung his head. "I don't want to, but… you know Aubrey would never allow it. I would never ask you to choose me over something that you love to do. I'd gladly give up the Treble's for you, but I'm pretty sure Aubrey would just kick you out when she finds out that you've been dating me."

Stacie couldn't hold back her tears. They streamed down her cheeks, staining her makeup. "So that's it?" she asked sharply. "You're not going to fight for us?"

Donald looked away. "That's not what I'm saying—,"

"Then what are you saying?" she cried, cutting him off sharply.

Donald stepped towards her, reaching for her hand, but Stacie was too angry at herself and at him to allow him to just expect them to be okay. She stepped away from his outstretched arms, and watched as he dropped them back to his sides, with his head hung low.

"Stacie, I don't want a break. I want to spend every single day with you, without the constant fear of being caught, or with the nagging feeling of jealousy whenever I see all these guys piling up behind you, thinking they can get with you, when _I'm_ the one who's dating you. _I'm_ the guy that you chose to date, and not a single soul in this hellhole knows about us. I want the world to know that _we _are together."

Stacie shook her head. "You knew, going into this relationship, that it wasn't going to be easy."

"Yes. I knew it wouldn't be a walk in the park, but I didn't prepare myself for the pain of watching those guys flirt with you, and you having to let them for the sake of not being too damn obvious! It hurts like hell! It nearly killed me when I watched that asshole kiss you tonight, and I couldn't do a damn fucking thing about it, because Aubrey would kick you out of the Bella's!"

Stacie cried harder, knowing his point, but she couldn't hold herself back and listen to him list off all those things, when he too has been a truck stop for girls. "And you think it's easy for me to watch all those girls line up in front of your dorm room?" she bellowed angrily.

Donald rolled his eyes. "I turned all of them away! Not once, did I encourage any of them, because I'm not the one who has to hide my feelings for you!"

Stacie's nose flared as she glared at Donald. "How dare you? Are you saying that I'm encouraging those guys?"

"I didn't say that!"

"Well, you didn't have to! That's what you meant!"

"Stacie, that's not what I me—,"

"No!" she cried out, cutting him off again. "That's exactly what you mean! You think that I don't care about you!"

"I don't think that!" Donald bellowed, but Stacie ignored it as she screamed.

"You don't care about me enough to fight for us, and you just want to end this so you could tend to those other girls because—,"

"I LOVE YOU!" Donald yelled, cutting her off effectively.

Stacie stopped abruptly, blinking at him. "I—what?" she asked softly, as her heart sped up.

Donald exhaled heavily. "I love you, Stacie." Donald whispered. His eyes turned soft as he stepped towards her. "So much, it hurts…" he trailed off as he took her face gently in his hands. "I love you. And I can honestly say that I don't want to go a single day without you in it." He paused to tuck a strand of her stray hair behind her ear. "I've never felt this way about anyone else… I feel like the happiest guy in this world when I'm with you. I feel like the luckiest human being in the universe whenever you smile at me. I hate having to hide our relationship, because I want to hold your hand, and kiss you, and hold you whenever the hell I want. And it sucks because I can't. I can't punch all those guys who tried to hit on you without making it obvious that we're together. I can't tell them that I'm your boyfriend either, because Aubrey would find out the next day. I can't come over to your room without checking twice if someone from the Bella's are there. I can't shout from the rooftop of my room that I love you, and I hate that I can't do any of that. It's like we're freaking Bonnie and Clyde, running from the world, and hiding in its crevices... It sucks."

Stacie was in tears again, but this time, they were tears of pure and utter joy. She smiled softly through her tears as she gently touched Donald's face. She thought she was the only one feeling this way, but now she knows that he feels it too. He loves her, and that's all she needed to know, as she leaned up and pressed her lips against his.

Their kiss deepened and lasted for a few minutes until air became an issue. They broke apart, taking deep breaths as they smiled at each other. Stacie leaned back and looked into her boyfriends eyes. "Donald," she said with a smile. "I love you too… more than you know."

Donald grinned and pulled her against his chest. "If this isn't love, I don't know what is." He murmured against her hair. Stacie giggled softly against his chest as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Let's not fight like this anymore." Stacie suggested.

Donald only grinned. "I like the sound of that."

"We good?" she asked hopefully.

Donald tilted his head to the side as he pulled away. "Yeah, but we have to make sure we're sexually compatible too, you know." He joked with a little smile.

Stacie rolled her eyes. "I think we both know that we are so much more than_ just_ sexually compatible."

"Wouldn't hurt to try it out again though, right?" Donald asked, hope lacing his tone.

Stacie grinned, "Okay, but I expect breakfast in bed tomorrow."

"Deal." Donald wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her with him, heading towards his room.

They sped up a bit, hoping to get to Donald's room soon, but Stacie paused in her step. "Oh and Donald?"

"Hmm?" Donald looked at her curiously.

"If you _ever_ suggest that we take a break, I'll cut you."

Donald laughed a bit fearful of his girlfriends glare, "Babe, I honestly don't know where that came from. If I ever suggest something like that again, _I'll_ cut myself."

Stacie giggled as they both hurried to the room.

Neither one cared if anyone saw them, because like it or not, their love will always prevail.

…

-The End.

Just kidding! Lol…

* * *

…

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Sooooo, tell me.. how was that for angst and drama? I wanted to make it a cliffhanger chapter, but it was just so sad to leave them broken up so early into their relationship. Maybe some other chapter or story. But let me know what you think, and what you'd like the next chapter to be like. More angst and drama? Or more fluffy, sugar-coated Stonald? REVIEW! Thanks, and stay tuned for the next chapter! Love you all to the maxxxxx!

...

-Sux2budude


	6. Chapter 6

Title: With You

Pairing: Donald/Stacie

Authors Note: Hey everyone! I don't have much to say except for, R&R, please! Thanks!

* * *

-DS-

* * *

**_Chapter Six_**

…..

* * *

…

Stacie groaned as she shifted uncomfortably against her bed sheets. Her body felt heavy, her eyes burned, and her entire being was sweating from head to toe.

This was by far the worst day of her college life. She could not believe that she got sick, just a week before the Semi-finals. Life was indeed, so damn unfair!

She shifted again, turning on her side and groaning loudly when the simple task of turning made her want to hurl. It's been three weeks since her and Donald's fight, and everything went back to normal after that, but somehow, something felt off. Donald barely came over to see her, and sometimes, when she calls him, he makes an excuse about studying for a test or something stupid like; he was out with the Treble's. It annoyed her to no end that he would rather hang out with his douchebag friends than with her, so she just stopped calling him altogether.

Stacie groaned even louder when someone knocked on the door. She was too damn tired to get out of bed to open the door, so she yelled as much as her sore throat allowed her.

"It's open!" she called.

A minute later, the door swung open, revealing Becca standing there in jeans, a dark green sweater and a huge smile on her face. "Hey!" Becca greeted cheerfully. Her facial expression changed from joyful to worried in a second, when she saw Stacie lying in bed, looking like she was about to pass out. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

Stacie gave her a tiny smile, "Yeah. just tired."

Becca ignored that and crossed the room, putting her hand on Stacie's forehead. "Oh my god, you're burning up!" Becca said as she pulled her hand away and gestured for Stacie to scoot.

"It's nothing." Stacie countered while trying to move away slowly.

"Does Donald know you're sick?"

Stacie, who was in the middle of scooting, froze in her actions, and stared wide-eyed at Becca.

She quickly put on a blank expression, and tried to look confused. "What? Why would those Treble's know anything about me?" she asked through her teeth.

Becca rolled her eyes. "You can cut the crap, Stacie." She said sternly. "I know you're with Donald." She said before going silent to give Stacie a chance to explain herself. Stacie pretended not to hear.

Becca folded her arms across her chest and gave her a stern look.

Stacie sighed in defeat. "I—I tried to stay away." She lied. She never tried nothing of the sort. "But—I can't. And I won't." Stacie muttered stubbornly as she mimicked Becca's actions and folded her own arms across her chest.

Becca gave her a smile and leaned forward to hug her friend. "Don't worry about me telling anyone about this. It's none of my business, and frankly, I think Aubrey is _way_ off base with her ridiculous rule."

"I know, right?" Stacie exclaimed. "Why the Trebles, and not the High Notes?... _They're_ the ones who are under the influence of marijuana!"

Becca nodded as she leaned back against the headboard of Stacie's bed. "Too true."

Stacie was silent for a moment before she turned on her side and stared up at Becca with a smile. "So..."

"So, what?" Becca asked curiously.

"You banging Jessie?" Stacie asked with a smirk.

Becca's eyes widened just a fraction before going back to their original size. "What? Psshh, No!"

"Sure."

"I'm not!" Becca exclaimed.

"Okay." Stacie nodded unconvinced.

"No, seriously! I'm not banging Jessie."

"Sure you're not." Stacie muttered with an eye roll that made her dizzy.

"We're just… friends."

"I feel a _but_ coming."

Becca was silent for a minute.

When she finally spoke again, her voice was soft as she thought of all the wonderful things she feels whenever she's with Jessie. "But I like him… He's just—He makes me feel like I'm the only girl in the school… In the world, actually."

Stacie nodded, feeling a bit sad. She used to have that with Donald. Now, she doesn't feel like she's the only girl in school, let alone the whole world. It seemed a lot more like she was one of the many girls who Donald has had the pleasure of boning. "At least he's still interested." Stacie muttered softly.

Becca turned to face her with a raised eyebrow. "Boyfriend troubles?"

Stacie sighed heavily as she closed her eyes and leaned further back into her pillows, tightening her arms around her giant pink teddy bear. "I don't know."

Becca sat up and turned so that she was facing Stacie. "Come on. Tell me." She pushed.

Stacie opened her eyes again and rolled them at Becca, but smiled because she was dying to tell someone about her relationship with Donald. "It's just… He seems… Distant." She shrugged.

Becca nodded. "So you think he's starting to lose interest in you?"

Stacie nodded dejectedly. "Yeah. And it's not like it's a mutual feeling between us. I still love him very much, and I… I don't think it's possible for me to lose interest in him."

Becca nodded again as she tried to think of something to say. "What makes you think he's losing interest in you?" she questioned.

Stacie shrugged. "He's distant. When I call, he barely answers, and when he does, he's always busy with something. Either he's studying, or he's hanging out with the fucking Treble's." Stacie spat.

"Maybe he really _is_ busy." Becca suggested.

Stacie rolled her eyes. "The last time I talked to him was on the phone, almost a week ago… and he hasn't called back since then. He didn't even text or come by my room at all. Not once!"

Becca bit her lip. "Okay, maybe he's just going through a lot." she stated, hoping to comfort her friend.

"Becca, when you're in a relationship with someone, you have to put aside time for them. You _find_ time to spend with them, and when you're busy, you call them and let them know, or when you know you miss them, you send them a text message or a fucking beacon, so they'll know that you care. You don't just stop calling for nearly an entire week!" Stacie fumed.

"Okay, geez." Becca muttered while throwing her hands up in mock surrender. "But maybe there's something else going on with him."

"Or someone." Stacie muttered with narrowed eyes.

"Don't say that. I know Donald cares about you just by the way he looks at you… and if it makes you feel any better, I saw him in the cafeteria yesterday, with two girls hitting on him—,"

"How the hell is that supposed to make me feel better?" Stacie exclaimed incredulously, cutting off Becca.

Becca rolled her eyes with a tiny sigh. "If you had let me finish, you'd _know_ how."

Stacie calmed down a bit and gestured for the other girl to continue.

"Two girls were hitting on your man, but he told them off. Said that he would rather swim through a sewer than even _look_ at either one of them."

Stacie's eyes widened. Her Donald was _never_ that mean to anyone. "Are you lying to try to make me feel better?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

"No… I think something is troubling your man."

Stacie looked away and bit her lip, wondering what had happened to her boyfriend. Something terrible must be up, because he would never talk like that to anyone. Even if he would really swim through a sewer than look at the two idiots who tried to hit on him. _How dare they!_

"Do you think I should call him?" Stacie asked.

Becca thought for a moment. She leaned over and placed her hand across Stacie's forehead, before retreating and shaking her head. "No… you're sick right now, so I'll be the one to go and get him."

Stacie was already shaking her head. "No… if there's something that's worrying him, then I don't want to add onto his list of worries."

Becca ignored Stacie as she hopped up off the bed. "Stacie, I think it's better that he knows that you're sick. Maybe he'll be your personal nurse and then you'll actually get a chance to talk to him and ask him what's up with his life."

Stacie huffed as she gave her friend a playful glare, knowing very well that Becca wouldn't listen to her and would go ahead and tell Donald about her being sick.

"Fine." Stacie sighed in defeat.

Becca grinned as she started towards the door. "Any surprise messages for your baby boo?"

Stacie giggled as she threw a pillow at Becca's head. "Just keep it short."

"Don't worry sweety. I'm sure your man thinks I'm hot, but he's already smitten by you, so…"

Stacie groaned, "Just get me a bag of Doritos when you come back."

"Will do!" Becca called as she closed the door behind her, leaving Stacie alone again.

Nearly an hour later, there was a soft knock on the door. Stacie tried to sit up, but her head was spinning and her body felt like a block of ice. "Come in!" she called hoarsely.

The door opened slightly, and she saw Donald slip in quietly. He was wearing jeans, and a dark gray t-shirt that clung to his body perfectly. His eyes connected with hers and he immediately dropped the bags in his hands and rushed to her side, his eyebrows creased together in obvious concern.

"Hey." He whispered softly.

"Hi." She greeted as she scooted to the side to let him sit down next to her. Donald immediately wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "Baby, you're so hot." He muttered against her hair.

Stacie smirked up at him. "Thank you."

Donald chuckled as he ran his hands up and down her arms. "Why didn't you tell me you were sick?" he asked softly.

Stacie gently laid her head against his chest and sighed deeply. "You were so busy, and I didn't want to add onto your problems."

Donald pulled away to look at her. "Babe, don't ever think that you would ever be a problem for me. I want to be the one to know everything that's going on with you, and take care of you."

Donald leaned forward to place a kiss against her lips, but Stacie was quick to lean away. Donald pulled back, looking away slightly sad, but Stacie caught his face kissed his forehead. "I don't want you to catch whatever sickness I have." She muttered softly.

Donald's frown quickly turned into a wide smile, and Stacie was caught off guard when he quickly leaned forward and placed a loud smacking kiss against her lips. "I don't care." He said, shaking his head. "I've missed you _so _much, and being away this long from you is like a fish being out of water."

Stacie giggled lightly but shook her head. "I still won't let you catch my sickness."

Donald rolled his eyes but gave her a questioning look. "Can I at least take care of you?" he asked.

Stacie nodded and leaned further against him, pressing her face into the side of his neck as she inhaled his scent. She loved the way he smelled. She's come to realize that it was her _favorite_ smell. She didn't want to fight, so she didn't bring up the fact that he hasn't called her once in nearly an entire week to check up on her.

After a few minutes, Donald got up and grabbed the bag that he had brought with him. Stacie looked at it expecting a bag of Dorito's, but was severely disappointed when Donald pulled out a take-out cup.

"What's that?" Stacie asked while wrinkling her nose.

"It's bean soup." Donald answered as he took out a plastic spoon and uncovered the takeout cup.

Stacie looked at him in confusion. "What in the world is a bean soup?" she asked.

Donald stared openmouthed at his girlfriend. "Bean soup?... you… you don't know what bean soup is?" he asked incredulously.

Stacie shook her head while she stared warily at the cup in Donald's hand. "What is it?"

Donald closed his mouth and looked at the cup for a moment before blowing gently on it as the steam continued to rise out of the white foam cup. "My mom used to feed it to me when I was little whenever I got sick."

Stacie smiled a bit as she imagined a little Donald being spoon fed by his mom. "I've never really been sick before." She said.

Donald smiled at her and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "Well I guess I'll be your first actual nurse then."

Stacie smiled back, "Great… you're an instructor for Relaxation 101 _and _you're a nurse. I never knew you were so gifted." She giggled.

Donald gave a cute little pout before turning stern as he faced her. "Open up, little lady."

Stacie opened her mouth and waited for Donald to blow the steam off the spoonful before feeding it to her. Stacie swallowed the liquid and waited for that horrible soup aftertaste, but it never came. She grinned widely and waited for Donald to warm up another spoonful. She was able to eat nearly half of it before exhaustion hit her.

Donald carefully covered the leftover soup and put it away on her nightstand.

"Lie with me?" Stacie asked sleepily.

Donald nodded wordlessly and stretched out beside her. Stacie laid her head over his chest and sighed. The sound of his heartbeat was soothing somehow, and soon she was slowly dozing off.

She felt Donald's lips press gently against her forehead. She smiled widely to herself when she heard him whispering softly into her ear.

"I love you." his voice was enough to lull her to sleep, but knowing that he loves her was more than enough to heal the pain inside her chest.

-DS-

* * *

...

* * *

Author's Note: Okay, that was overly cheesy and boring, so I apologize. But i'll be explaining the confusing Ignorey-Donald in the next chapter. Next chapter will take an angsty turn, so I apologize to those who want a fluffy chapter. But don't worry, I like my Donald and Stacie together. It'll just have to take an interesting, yet sad turn at some point. Stay tuned for chapter seven, and look out for my new STONALD fanfic, called "Pretend To Be Mine." I've already posted it, so if your a Stonald fan, then check it out. thanks for reading, and please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Title: With You

Pairing: Donald/Stacie

Author's Note: Hello! Okay, this chapter will be sort of angsty and a bit infuriating for those of you who wanted fluffy chapters. I apologize for this chapter, but do not worry. It will get better, and you'll eventually understand what I'm trying to do. Every relationship _has _to have a bad turn, and this chapter will be the start of it for Stacie and Donald's relationship. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review this chapter, and let me know what you think of it.

-Sux2budude

-DS-

* * *

_**Chapter Seven**_

* * *

…

Stacie woke up feeling a whole lot better than she did before she fell asleep. She stretched her arms up high above her head and groaned at the aches in her muscles. She felt a lot better, but still a bit achy and drained. Stacie's eyes slowly opened and adjusted slowly to the light inside her room. She could see her roommate shuffling around under her bed, and she didn't really know whether to be annoyed that Donald left, or relieved that her roommate didn't see him. _If _she didn't already.

* * *

…

Donald pinched the bridge of his nose as he leaned back against the headboard of his bed. This week has definitely turned out to be the worst week of his entire life. He's spent his entire life, doing the things he wanted to do, and dating whoever the hell he wanted. Until he met Stacie. She was the one person he knew he wanted a future with, but now it was all shot to hell. On top of keeping their relationship a secret, he had to watch a bunch of guys flirt with her, and it nearly killed him.

Donald closed his eyes tightly and his thoughts flitted back to the last week when he had accidentally walked in on a conversation that Stacie and her dad were having on the phone. She must've forgotten to lock the door to her dorm room, and her dad was on loudspeaker. Donald had held his breath as he heard his name being uttered from Stacie's phone.

"So, this Donald person. What does he major in?" Stacie's dad asked.

Stacie rolled her eyes, "He's not a Donald person. He's my boyfriend, dad." Stacie said in slight annoyance.

"What does he major in?" her dad asked again, ignoring her tone.

Stacie sighed softly. "He's double majoring in Business and Music, but he's more into the Music industry, and he's already gotten a job down at a studio close to here so he can produce his own songs." She stated excitedly.

Apparently, Stacie thought she had said the right thing, and she found out a moment later that it was the wrong thing to tell her dad because he suddenly went silent.

"Music?" Her dad asked incredulously a minute later. "That's not even an actual major." He complained.

"What do you mean it's not an actual major?" Stacie asked in irritation.

"Stacie, you are meant for great things. You're smart, and beautiful, and you're dating a Music major? How would he provide for you? Is he going to perform a million dollar show every day, and then run off on tours while you stay home alone?"

Stacie huffed loudly. "Dad, you're being overdramatic!

"No, I'm looking out for my only child." He argued.

"I don't need you to look out for me, dad. I need you to support me and my decision to date whoever I want." She cried.

"I am your father, and I say you're too young to date."

Stacie could not believe her ears. "Too young? Dad, I am 19 years old! I'm not a baby anymore, and don't you dare say I'm too young to date when you've been urging me to date Mr. Peterson's son!"

"At least Jason is majoring in something that can take care of you for forever! This Donald guy is majoring in Music!"

Stacie's face turned bright red in anger, "So you're selling me off to a Lawyer's son?" She asked in disbelief.

"I'm not selling you off, Stacie. I just want what's best for you."

"What's best for me? Dad, what's best for me is to be with Donald!"

"A Music major can't provide for you!" Her dad practically yelled.

"Oh my God, are you seriously saying that to me? I can provide for myself!"

"Have you forgotten who's paying your school bills, Stacie?"

Stacie could not believe her ears. "Are you threatening to withhold my education because you don't want me to date Donald?" Stacie felt the tears forming in her eyes.

"No, but you _will _stop dating that boy. He's not good enough for you."

Stacie scoffed loudly enough for her dad to hear, "And I suppose Jason is good enough for me?"

"He's more than capable of providing for you."

"I can't believe this." Stacie muttered out loud.

Donald closed his eyes as he slowly backed out of Stacie's doorway. He quietly closed the door behind him before turning on his heels and leaving.

Stacie got up off her bed and snatched her phone up, "Stacie, I know you like this boy a lot, but he simply cannot be good enough for you?"

"How would you know? You've never even met him!" Stacie exploded. "And he _is _good enough for me!"

She heard her dad sighing loudly on the other end of the line. "You are meant for someone better."

"And I supposed by "someone better", you mean Jason?"

"Yes." He said simply.

"Dad!" Stacie screamed. "I don't _like_ Jason!"

"Because you've never given him a chance!" her dad screamed back.

"Maybe I can't give him a chance because he's a giant idiot who thinks of no one but himself!"

"Don't say that about him when you've never even given it a second thought."

"Are you seriously defending him?"

"Look, just… think about it, okay?"

Stacie shook her head, not believing her dad's impossibly irrational and stupid idea. "There's nothing to think about." She finalized.

"Why not?"

"Because… " Stacie trailed off, knowing full well that her father would absolutely hate her for what she's about to say. She didn't want to tell her dad just yet about how she really felt for Donald, but given the fact that her dad was pushing for her to date Jason, she decided to just tell him the truth. " Because I'm in love with Donald… I love him, dad."

Her dad was silent for a few moments. Stacie prayed to all that's holy that her dad would understand.

"You can't love someone when you're so young, Stacie."

At least he wasn't having a heart attack or screaming at her to pack her bags and come home.

Stacie rolled her eyes, "What do you mean I'm young? You and mom met when you were in high school and you guys fell in love and got married instantly after college." She argued.

"That's different." Her dad argued back.

"How? How is any of this different?" she asked in total and complete annoyance.

"It just is, okay?"

Stacie closed her eyes. She knew her dad wouldn't drop this conversation, so she was the one to say the final words. "I can't stop seeing Donald, dad… You can stop paying for my school bills, but I'm not going to let him go… I love him too much, daddy. Why can't you just support me? Mom would have loved him." with that, she hung up, wiping angrily at her tears.

…

* * *

…

He couldn't handle standing there much longer without shouting at Stacie's dad to fuck off… But, despite his anger, Donald began to wonder if he really could provide for her. Given his parent's boatload of money, he _could. _But on his own? He wasn't sure. As much as it annoyed him to admit, Stacie's dad had a point. Donald always knew he wasn't good enough for her, and he tried his best to make her happy, so she wouldn't get bored of him. He's been on the tips of his toes from day one, and he wasn't sure that his best was good enough. Hearing Stacie's dad talking about her future, made Donald even more worried that he won't be able to give her the life that she deserves.

Donald exhaled heavily as he slowly descended the staircase of the girls dorms. He must've been feeling absolutely shitty, because he didn't even notice when Aubrey walked up, glaring at him. If looks could kill, he'd be dead a thousand times over.

(End Flashback)

* * *

…

Donald sighed sadly as he stared at the ceiling of his room. He was dying to see Stacie, but he knew he had to distant himself from her, if only to give her time to think about her future and what was best for herself. He'd given it so much thought in the past few days, that he had nearly started bleeding from the nose.

Donald pulled his glasses off and rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. Ever since the day he heard Stacie's conversation with her dad, he hadn't been able to sleep. Seeing her again after nearly an entire week, was like seeing water after walking in a desert for ten days. He nearly had a heart attack when Becca had told him that Stacie was sick. He had a couple of bruises around his knee where he had tripped while running up the staircase to the girls dorms, trying to get to Stacie. His heart ached when he left her after making sure she was asleep. He tried not to think about what he was going to do when she gets better. He's given it a lot of thought, and he's made his decision. He hated that he was like this. He could've been the selfish guy who would rather die than let someone go, but no. With Stacie, he was never selfish. When he's with her, she's his entire world. When he's away from her, he can't stop thinking about her. When he has to make the decision between being with her for his happiness, and letting her go for her own good and because she deserves better, Donald didn't need to give it a second thought. He would always choose her well-being over his own, and he would rather see her be happy and content with someone she deserves, than see her live an unhappy, unstable, and undeserving life with him.

Donald turned over on his bed and shut his eyes tightly. He felt sick to his stomach, just thinking about what he was going to do the next time he sees Stacie. He sighed again, wishing he could just die after he accomplishes that. His heart was still beating, but it felt empty somehow. Broken, and shattered. If he'd have known that things would end up like this, he never would have pursued her. But he didn't. He didn't know that the guilt of not being sure if he could give her the life she deserves, would completely eat away at him. Donald felt his eyes mist up a bit, and he sighed as he thought out loud.

"I'll always love you, Stacie, " his voice echoed in the dark empty room. "Always" he turned back to stare up at the ceiling, knowing very well that he wouldn't be able to get any sleep.

…

* * *

...

Author's Note: Hey everyone. Thanks so much for reading. I hope you all disliked this chapter as much as I did. I mean I love the way I wrote it, but even_ I_ hated the character that I had to set up to be Stacie's dad. I know, he sucks and I wanna kick him in the face too. But I had to have a reason for Donald and Stacie to go through something dramatic, and this seemed good enough. I didn't want to write something about cheating because that would make their love a total fake. I feel sorry for Donald in this chapter, and I'm sure all you Stonald fans feel the same way. But this isn't the end to the angst and sadness. And I'm sorry for that. Next chapter, you'll probably feel sorry for Stacie while you start to hate Donald's guts. You'll find out why in Chapter eight. But don't worry, they'll eventually get over this bump in the road. The angst and sadness might continue for at the least, two more chapters, so please bear with me. I hope you all liked this. Also, please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. Reviews mean speedier updates, so…. REVIEW! Thanks again.

-Sux2budude


	8. Chapter 8

Title: With You

Pairing: Stacie/Donald

Summary: Hello! I'll be kicking up the angst in this chapter, so be warned. A whole lot of fighting, sadness, anger, fury, jealousy, swearing, and maybe even a slap in the face. I apologize beforehand for this chapter. I know some of you wanted a fluffy chapter with lots of Stonald moments, but I wanted to go through with this impending doom because there is no such thing as the _perfect couple. _But don't worry, the story won't be ending too soon. There is plenty of time for fluffy, and sugar-coated Stonald moments. There might also be a sequel to the story if it ever comes to an end. So, thank you all for reading, and please review.

* * *

_**Chapter Eight**_

* * *

…

Donald feared the moment when he'd have to face Stacie. He didn't exactly know how to end things with her without breaking down and crying, so he had decided that if things were going to end between them, she would have to be the one to do it, because he can't bring himself to look her in the eyes and tell her that he wants to break up. Not only will he be lying, he would also break under her gaze, and then he would die of heart failure when he sees the pain in her eyes.

Donald sighed heavily as he approached the Treble Maker's bus. He had offered to drive to the Semi-Finals, if only to take his mind off of Stacie. He sat in the driver's seat and waited for the rest of the Treble Makers to get on.

"Let's roll!" Bumper shouted as he jumped onto the bus. Jesse followed after, and Donald saw Benji running up to their bus.

"Hey!" Benji called. Jesse stopped and turned towards Benji as he leaned against the bus door and tried to catch his breath. "I—I was umm, I'm on my way to the Semi-Finals and I was wondering if I could maybe catch a ride with you guys."

Donald could see the troubled look on Jesse's face as he turned to Bumper, who raised an eyebrow challengingly.

"Uhh, I'm really sorry, Benj," Jesse began softly. "But uhh, only Treble Maker's are allowed on the bus."

Donald felt sorry for the poor guy. He was kind of weird, but Donald thought he had a pretty good voice. But, Bumper being Bumper, didn't want anyone weird in the team. Which was odd, considering how abnormally weird the rest of the Treble Makers are.

Benji nodded understandingly and stepped away as Donald pulled the door closed. They pulled out of the driveway and were on their way to the Semi-Finals.

They were about three hours away when Donald spotted the Bella's bus at Kean's gas station. He shut his eyes momentarily, hoping to all that was holy that the Treble's won't notice it. He just knew that the Treble's were going to do something stupid. Donald held his breath as he tried to keep his eyes (and his thoughts) away from the Bella's bus, but his hopes were shot to hell when he heard one of the Treble's call out, "Hey Bumper, is that Fat Amy?"

Donald huffed in annoyance.

"Oh, slow down, slow down, yeah!" Bumper called. Donald had no choice but to slow down. He was about to ask what Bumper was going to do, when he heard Bumper call out.

"Heyyy, Amy!" Amy turned around looking confused. "SABOTAGE!" Bumper shouted, and before Donald could say anything, Bumper's burrito went flying in her direction, hitting her square on the chest, and splattering over her uniform, and around the back of the Bella's bus. Donald couldn't help but squint at the bus, searching for Stacie. He saw her, looking as beautiful as ever in the overused flight-attendant getup, glaring at their bus. Donald cleared his throat and tore his eyes away from her, and speeding away. His insides squirmed as he stared ahead. He knew it would take a while before his focus would turn away from her.

* * *

…

Donald was singing along with the boys when Bumper's phone started ringing loudly. "Yeeeellow!" Bumper drawled. Donald glanced up into the rearview mirror, watching Bumper's facial expression change from confused to pure delight. Donald groaned softly. With Bumper's twisted mind, Donald just knew that this wasn't going to be good. Fast forward an hour later, and Donald found himself fighting the urge to stare up into the bus's rearview mirror at Stacie. They had gotten the call that the Bella's bus had ran out of gas and died in the middle of the road, so they turned back and picked the girls up.

Donald didn't know if Stacie had looked at him while getting on the bus because he was too busy trying to distract himself. His heart was beating wildly in his chest, and he tried to focus on driving, even starting to beatbox to distract himself. They were maybe halfway there when he felt something nudge at his seat. He turned his head slightly and saw that Asian girl kneeling right beside him, smiling at him.

"Uhh, hey." Donald let his eyes wander up to the rearview mirror and towards Stacie who was sitting near the back of the bus, glaring daggers into the back of the Asian girls head. This was it. Donald stared ahead, and readied himself for this. He was usually excited when it came to girls. He had always been the guy who could talk to any girl without any troubles. He was a pro at it. But, all that changed with Stacie, and he finds himself feeling terrible at the thought of flirting with someone who isn't Stacie. Donald wasn't sure what the other girl was saying to him. Maybe she was beatboxing? He couldn't be sure because he could barely hear her. He thinks he heard her say that her name was Lilly something after that.

He leaned back in his seat and summoned all his courage to do this. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, sending out a silent apology to the girl he loves.

_I'm sorry, Stacie._

"I set fires to feel joy." He heard the weird Asian girl say… or more like whisper.

He forced a small smile on his face as he leaned further into his seat. "That's adorable." He said loudly. His eyes flickered up to the rearview mirror. He saw Stacie biting her lip, and her eyes piercing holes into the back of his seat.

"So, uhh… do you dig rappers?" He asked Lilly.

She whispered something that he couldn't even hear. He just nodded and forced another smile onto his face. He could feel the Asian girl inching closer to his seat, and he had to force himself not to move. His eyes kept flickering to the rearview mirror, and each time he looked at Stacie, he could see she was getting angrier by the minute. Donald had to try harder, so he did.

"I dig Asian chicks who beatbox." He muttered loudly.

That was probably the last straw because when he looked back up at the rearview mirror, he saw Stacie close her eyes and turn away, pushing her I-pod earphones into her ear. Donald sighed sadly and leaned forward, keeping his eyes on the road as the sinking feeling set in. He'd done it. He had made her mad. He didn't say anything else to Lilly, and he wasn't sure if she was saying anything either, because either way, he wouldn't be able to hear her, and he wouldn't be able to listen.

Stacie was angry. Furious. No… she was livid. She could _not _believe that Donald was flirting with Lilly while she was in the bus. She's not sure if he did it to throw Aubrey off track, or if he was really flirting with Lilly. Either way, she couldn't help but want to strangle the both of them. As soon as the bus pulled over in the parking lot, Stacie got up out of her seat and stormed angrily out of the bus.

She didn't glance over in Donald's direction, and she didn't want to look at Lilly. She also didn't wait for the rest of the Bella's to get off the bus. She went straight backstage and sat down in a chair, holding her head in her hands as she took a few deep breaths to try to calm herself down.

As soon as the Bella's and the Treble's started filing in one by one, Stacie turned away and tried her best to clear her head. She kept her eyes shut as she continued to breathe in and out deeply, counting the minutes until it was time for them to perform.

-DS

* * *

…

Stacie stared ahead as they started to sing, making sure to smile, and sing as normally as her anger allowed her. Their song didn't go exactly the way it was planned, because halfway through the song, Becca started belting out the lyrics to _Bulletproof_ while Aubrey sang _I Saw The Sign. _Stacie thought it actually sounded pretty good, and she would've jumped in to help Becca, but given the fact that she herself wasn't feeling very cheerful at the moment, she stuck with the routine.

Then came the unsurprising part. Becca and Aubrey started arguing about Becca's interference in the song, but Stacie kept quiet. Chloe would jump in every now and then to cover up for Becca, but Aubrey would have none of it. That's when the Treble's came into the room. Becca and Jesse had a little argument as well before Becca stormed out of the room. Stacie sidestepped when the Treble's crossed the room to get on stage, and she fought hard to keep her eyes away from Donald until he passed. He didn't even look her way, and the sinking feeling in Stacie's gut made her want to hurl.

_Is it possible that he lost interest in her? Was he really flirting with Lilly? Did he really whisper just a few days ago that he loved her -while she was sick, or was that a dream?_

Stacie sighed heavily as she too headed for the door, no longer wanting to be there. She caught a ride to campus with a couple of High-Notes members who were there to watch the competition. Stacie stared out the car window, her head throbbing, and her insides squirming uncomfortably at the thought of what was happening to her and Donald. She thought he loved her. She knows she still loves him very much, and the pain of watching him flirt with another girl, was unbearable. She decided to just sleep on it, and talk to him face to face the next day.

* * *

…

It took all of his strength not to storm over to Stacie's room and beg her to forgive him for acting like a giant douchebag. He felt terrible for the way things are. He knows he could just tell her that he's doing it for her and her future, but then she would just dismiss it and demand that he shuts up and stays with her. He would love to do that, but not only would Stacie's dad stop paying for her school, they would also have to have a long distance relationship. They say it's better to have something than nothing at all… well, that saying applied to this situation. He would rather die every day when he sees her happy with someone who deserves her, than to not see her at all. That would be complete torture.

Donald was pulled out of his thoughts by a loud knock on his door. He thought it might be Bumper or Unicycle, but he's thoroughly surprised to see that it's Jesse. The guy looked like he was about to pass out, so Donald didn't ask any questions as he invited him in.

"Nice room." Jesse muttered as he slowly looked around the room.

Donald forced a tiny smile onto his face, but it probably looked more like a grimace. "Perks of being a Senior, I guess."

Jesse nodded as he sat down on Donald's desk chair. "Must be great being a Senior."

Donald shrugged nonchalantly. "It's okay, but I'm guessing you didn't just come over to discuss how awesome the Senior's are?" he asked curiously. They were never really close, so it confused Donald as to why Jesse was there at such an early hour.

Jesse sighed heavily as he leaned forward on his elbows. "No, you're right. I just… I wanted to ask you how you could date Stacie without running into trouble with Aubrey, and her parents, and…" Jesse shrugged, "just everything, really."

Donald wasn't sure whether to be surprised that Jesse knew about him and Stacie, or surprised that Jesse thought he didn't have problems with Aubrey, and Stacie's parents. "I uhh, I'm probably not the best person to talk to about that kind of stuff."

Jesse shook his head. "No, you're the only Treble Maker who's dating a Barden Bella without anyone knowing… I mean, you guys are probably the Ultimate couple, you know?"

Donald sighed as he sat down on his bed. "Look, it wasn't easy keeping my relationship with Stacie a secret. I had to hold myself back from killing Eric when he tried to hit on her that one day, and I had to hide my anger every time I caught someone staring at her. It's not a walk in the park. On top of that, Aubrey has been on our case for a while now. It took seeing some other guy kissing Stacie to throw Aubrey off track, but it nearly killed _me_…" Donald said pointing to himself. "And then there's Stacie's dad… The man has never met me, yet he hates my guts already… Say's he prefers that Stacie date some asshole named Jacob or whatever."

Jesse blinked at Donald, as if seeing him in a whole new light. "You love her, don't you?"

"I—," Donald was slightly taken aback by Jesse's sudden question, but he couldn't lie. "Yeah." He nodded. He sighed heavily as he leaned on his elbows. "I can't even put into words what it's like to be with her, you know?"

Jesse nodded, knowing very well what it's like to be with someone you're in love with.

Donald continued, not really paying attention to the fact that he was confessing to Jesse. It didn't really matter because he would rather tell Jesse about his feelings for Stacie than tell Bumper, or anyone else on the Treble.

"Seeing her smile, is like finally tasting water after a week in the desert… hearing her laugh is like seeing the sun after a month in darkness… the scent of her hair is like being touched by an angel … and just being able to call her mine?" Donald felt the familiar smile creep up into his face at the thought of her. "It's…" He trailed off because he couldn't quite describe what he feels for Stacie. It's love, and so much more. "It's living." He breathed.

"As cheesy and sappy as that was, I actually understand how you feel." Jesse said quietly.

Donald chuckled lightly. "Pretty impressive, huh?"

A slightly loud laugh erupted from Jesse as he nodded. "Yeah."

The two were silent for a minute.

"So you're still going strong with her?" Jesse asked curiously.

Donald smiled sadly as he shook his head. "Actually, I think she's going to dump me."

Jesse's head snapped up at that, "What? Why?" he questioned.

"She deserves better, you know?"

"I don't get it."

Donald shrugged, "I don't blame you… I mean, I barely get what's going on either."

Jesse shook his head. "You don't have to tell me why you think Stacie's going to dump you, but I'm a pretty good listener."

Donald stayed silent for a few moments. He really wanted to tell someone, but it wasn't easy. Taking a few deep breaths, he finally opened up, and told Jesse about his overhearing Stacie's conversation with her dad.

Jesse shook his head. "I still don't understand." He muttered in confusion.

"What don't you understand?"

"The part where you have to let her go. I mean, if you love someone, you have to fight for them, right?"

Donald nodded, "But then there's also the saying 'If you love something, you have to let it go.'"

"I just don't get why you have to let her go… I'm pretty sure she has a right to voice her opinion."

Donald shook his head. "No, she'll choose me. And then what? I become a music producer who won't make enough money to support and take care of her and give her the life that she deserves?"

"No, dude…" Jesse answered, "You'll be the music producer who would love her as much as she deserves… I mean, I don't know about you and Stacie and other people out there, but I'd rather be poor and happy, than to be rich and miserable." He shrugged simply as he stared at the other guy. "Money and stability don't always equal to happiness."

Donald let Jesse's words sink in as he folded his arms across his chest. "True, but Stacie's dad also threatened to withhold her College tuition if she continues to date me. Stacie loves school, and her friends, and the Bella's. I can't let our relationship get in the way of what she loves."

"But she loves you too, right?"

Donald blinked, and then nodded, "Yeah."

"Well, there you go… she loves you, and you love her. Simple as that. I don't really know Stacie, but I'm pretty sure she loves you more than she loves school _and_ the Bella's, otherwise she wouldn't have wasted her time on dating a Treble Maker. The one rule that the Bella's have to follow, is to _not _date, or have anything to do with a Treble Maker."

Donald wasn't sure what to say to that, so he changed course. "What if I become the reason why she's miserable? What if ten years from now, she'll look back and wonder how she ended up with someone like me?... She _deserves_ better."

Jesse shook his head as he got up out of his seat, "_That_ is probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard… I think Stacie deserves you. If you're the one that makes her happy, than you're the one she deserves…You know, I came here today to get some advice from the only sane guy in the Treble's, but I think your issues have answered a few questions for me as well, so… Thank you." Jesse nodded with a tiny smile.

Donald was confused as to why Jesse was thanking him, but he smiled anyway, because now that he's thinking about it, for the first time since he's been with Stacie, he wants to be selfish. For the first time since he's been with her, Donald wants to be with her more than he wants her to be happy with someone else. The thought of her with someone else makes him sick, so as he escorts Jesse to the door, he pulled one of his hoodies off the coat rack and headed outside to get some fresh air.

-DS-

* * *

…

Stacie stomped outside in the bitter cold, trying to stay out as long as her legs would allow her. She was shivering, and shaking, feeling her entire body numbing at the biting wind, but she stayed because she'd rather feel numb than feel the pain spreading across her chest. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, wondering if she has enough strength in her to make it back to her dorm room. The sound of gravel and stones crunching and breaking under someone's boots pulled her out of her thoughts. She whirled around, and found herself staring at Jason Peterson of all people. Her dad had told her he'd be in Atlanta this weekend, and she had merely shrugged it off, focusing on Donald.

"Hello there." He greeted with a crooked smile. Jason is a tall dark-haired guy with a big mouth, piercing blue eyes, and a small brain. Yes, he was smart and is studying at Yale to become a lawyer, but based on his intelligence and personality, he was probably the stupidest guy Stacie has ever met. On top of being a completely rude person, he is selfish, idiotic, and egotistical. Three of the things that Stacie avoided in a guy.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she asked snappishly.

His chuckled made Stacie want to strangle him. it was the most annoying sound on the face of the earth in her opinion. "Can't a guy surprise a girl every now and then?"

Those words struck a chord with her, and flashes of Donald pulling her behind a bush and then her spin kicking him in the gonads flitted through her mind, and Stacie just about lost it. "Considering your ego, no! you can't surprise someone when they could hear your ego dragging loudly through the school campus, from a mile away."

The smirk on Jason's face slid off his face, and his eyes turned dark. Stacie could tell he was angry now, but she didn't care. She was angry as fuck, and he's the closest being who would have to deal with her mood.

She's thoroughly surprised when Jason grabbed her and then his lips are on hers. She doesn't react, and she doesn't think. She just stood there, feeling absolutely nothing. The numbing cold seemed to be consuming her, and she doesn't react when his arms wrap around her. She's so tired of everything. She's tired of her dad, she's tired of school, she's tired of the Barden Bella's or more specifically Aubrey, and she's tired of wondering if Donald really loves her, or if she was just one of his conquests.

* * *

…

Donald halted when he heard her voice. Stacie. He turned a corner and stopped completely when he saw Stacie and some guy kissing. He swears he felt his heart stop beating for a moment. He couldn't really see them, but he'd know her voice and the shape of her body anywhere. Donald shut his eyes tightly as he backed away slowly. His heart clenched inside his chest, and his eyes stung with unshed tears. _God, it hurts._

He didn't think he could survive if he stayed there any longer, so he turned on his heels and left. As soon as he was out of hearing range, he collapsed to the ground, his back against a wall as he laid his head on his arms. His lungs burned, his eyes stung, and his heart throbbed. He'd done it. He had pushed her away, and now she was making out with some random guy. Donald stared up into the night sky as he let his tears fall. _Did she really love me? Is it possible for her to lose interest so fast that she'd be making out with some guy a day after that bus incident? Is she taking revenge?_

Stacie's eyes snapped shut, and she blinked back the tears. Because even with someone else's lips on hers, the only person she could see in her minds eye, is Donald. He's the air that she breathes. He's her shelter, her comfort, her warmth, and her knight in shining armor. He's the only one she loves, and will _ever_ love. Stacie felt Jason's tongue against her lips, and she immediately snapped back to reality. Her hand was a blur as it connected harshly with Jason's cheek. He staggered back, reeling from the blow, and before he could react, Stacie's knee went whizzing straight between his legs, landing with a thud where it hurt most. Jason doubled over, clutching at his crotch while fighting to breathe.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" she bellowed angrily as she used the sleeve of her sweater to wipe her mouth.

"What the fuck am I doing? What the fuck are _you _doing?" Jason yelled just as angrily.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, coming over here and kissing me like you own me?!" she yelled back.

Jason slowly got back up, a look of pure anger on his face. "I want you, Stacie! Your dad approves of me, and I'm rich! I, am the closest thing you can get to your fathers standards!"

Stacie's nostrils flared and her eyes burned with anger. "Do you seriously think I'd want to be with you because you're rich, and you meet my dad's standards?"

Jason looked dumbfounded for a moment. "What more could you want? I'm good-looking, rich, I work out, and I'm studying to become a lawyer."

He didn't see her hand as it connected once again with his face. "I'm not a fucking idiot! I can choose whoever the fuck I want to be with, and it's sure as fuck not going to be you!" with that, Stacie turned away and left. She stormed back to her dorm room, determined to get a change of clothe before she heads over to Donald's room to demand an explanation for his behavior.

* * *

…

Donald stood up slowly and walked shakily back to his room. He's done for. No more dating, no more love, no more of anything. He stopped in his step when he saw Becca sitting on a bench, staring up into the night sky. He hesitated, but after a minute, decided to just go over and talk to her.

"Hey." He said softly, breaking her out of her dazed state.

Becca looked at him, slightly surprised. "Oh, hi." She smiled softly.

"Mind if I sit?" he asked, pointing beside her at the empty spot.

Becca shook her head and scooted over a bit. "No, go ahead."

Donald sat down beside her and offered a tiny smile. "Been out here long?"

Becca shrugged. "Kinda lost track of time."

"Aren't you freezing?"

Becca shrugged again. "It's not so bad."

He doesn't know why, but he felt like he should say it. "Jesse really cares about you." he blurted.

Becca blinked at him. "What?"

Donald sighed as he leaned back. "Jesse. He… He cares about you."

"How would you know?"

Donald shrugged, "The fact that he even showed up at the police station that night after regionals? The fact that he's been constantly trying to cover for you? The fact that you screamed at him, and he's still trying to figure out a way to tell you how he feels about you?..." he shrugged again, "Take your pick."

Becca sighed softly. "I care about him too. He's probably the only guy who could make me feel this way."

"Probably?" Donald asked with a raised eyebrow.

Becca laughed a bit sadly. "Probably shouldn't have yelled at him last night, huh?."

"Probably not."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes. "Just… talk to him. I think he'd like that."

"I don't know. He looked pretty upset after I yelled at him."

"He'll get over it. Guys are like little girls and puppies when it comes to a girl we may like. We can be all manly and shit, but give us a puppy and we'll melt completely… Give him a bit of time to think, but… after that, just… Explain to him how you really feel about him."

Becca smiled widely at Donald, not sure if she wanted more to thank him for being there and giving her advice that actually made sense, or slap him for making her want to cry and run to Jesse's room to apologize for her terrible behavior towards him.

"Thanks." She whispered.

Donald smiled as he stood up. "Anytime… I'm gonna head to bed. You should get some sleep too." He muttered. "It's getting pretty cold."

Becca nodded as she gave him one last smile and watched as he headed back towards his room.

Donald made it to his room, smiling a tad bit, but he stopped in his tracks at the beautiful sight before him, waiting in front of his door.

"Stacie." He managed to say.

Stacie would've melted just by looking at him, standing in jeans and a hoodie, his hair wet with the cold moisture in the air, but… she wanted to know what was going on with them, so she chose to be stern and straightforward.

"What the heck is going on?" Stacie asked, preferring to jump straight to the point instead of beating around the bush.

"Uhh, not sure what you mean." Donald muttered as he shrugged his jacket higher up his shoulders.

"Oh, well why don't I enlighten you?" Stacie said sarcastically. "How about the fact that you flirted with Lilly, while _I,_ your girlfriend, was in the bus? How dare you?"

Donald knew this was his chance to make her hate him. She has to hate him enough to dump him, and then she'll find someone better and she'll be happy with someone she deserves.

"At least I wasn't kissing her!" Donald yelled, even as his heart clenched.

Stacie was silent for a moment, not exactly sure what to say. _Had Donald seen her with Jason?_

"What?" she asked cautiously.

"Yeah. I saw you and your new boyfriend making out."

Stacie shook her head, "He's not my boyfriend, and it's not what you think."

Donald scoffed loudly as he rolled his eyes. "That's getting very old."

"Excuse me?" Stacie cut in, seriously starting to feel the anger bubbling inside her at his words.

Donald only nodded, as if taunting her. "Yeah. Telling me that it's not what I think? It's old. What the fuck else could I be thinking if I saw with my own two eyes, _my _girlfriend, making out with some other guy? You can't possibly be looking for his uvula with your tongue, right?"

"_He_ kissed me! Not the other way around!" Stacie interrupted.

"That's what you said about that one guy from the party! How do I know you weren't really making out with these two guys? How do I know you weren't cheating on me?"

"Because you love and trust me, like how I love and trust you!" Stacie screamed.

"It doesn't make it hurt less when you cheat!"

Stacie slapped him across the cheek, his head snapping to the side as the harsh sound of flesh on flesh echoed through the hallway. Silence settled in, and they just stared at each other.

Donald put his hand up to his cheek, rubbing it to get some feeling back into his face. Stacie only stared back at him, breathing heavily through her nose.

"I _never _cheated on you."

Donald shook his head. "How do I trust you when every time I turn my back, I turn right back to find you and some guy kissing?"

"You just do!" Stacie shouted. "No matter how hard, or how painful it is, you just trust me, because you love me." She cried. "I had my doubts about you too, but I held on to what we had because I knew in my heart that I loved you, and _that_ alone was enough for me. I trusted you." Stacie fought back the tears, not wanting to believe that her Donald, wouldn't believe and trust her. That his love for her isn't enough to make him trust her. "If we don't have trust, then we can't possibly have love." She muttered. Stacie could no longer hold them back, and the tears came trailing down her cheeks. "If you can't love me enough to trust me, then we will never make it…" She felt her heart fall apart as she uttered the words that she never thought she'd have to say to Donald. "It's over." She whispered almost inaudibly. With that, she turned, and she fled.

Donald's limbs were aching to move. He desperately wanted to run after her and apologize for being an asshole, but he held himself back… _For Stacie. _He closed his eyes and counted the seconds until he could no longer hear the soft thuds of her footsteps getting farther away from him.

Stacie sobbed the whole way back to her room, barely able to see through her tears. She dove into her dorm room, collapsed onto her bed, and she finally let herself break down, as she cried like a baby.

* * *

…

Donald fell to his knees, not sure what was a better option. Dying on the spot, or sobbing on the spot. Either way, he couldn't move. His entire brain had automatically shut down, and he could only stare at the place where Stacie had been standing. She did it. She dumped him, and she's going to move on and be happy. He wished he could be happy that she won't be wasting her time on someone like him, but the pain, and dread in his chest told him that he would never truly be happy without her.

He felt the hot tears trailing down his cheeks, and he didn't bother to wipe them away. His poor heart could take no more, and he fell back, leaning against the doorway, as he pressed his forehead against his arms, and tried to continue breathing.

-DS-

* * *

…

Author's Note: Okay, that was too much angst and sadness for me. I think that's enough for now. Next chapter will start out sad, and gloomy, but it'll get better. I promise! Anyway, I hope you liked the way it was written, and hated the way things are, because a place with no Stacie and Donald is like a beach without sand, rain without water, and Barbie without Ken. It's sad, and dreary, and just…. BLAHHHH! BUT, do not worry, it will be a happy story in the end. Next chapter will be up soon, so please REVIEW! Thanks for reading and reviewing the previous chapters! Love you all for doing so.

-Sux2budude


	9. Chapter 9

Title: With You

Pairing: Donald/Stacie

Author's Note: Hello everyone! Thanks so much for reading this story. A special, gigantic, humongous Thank You to all of you who have reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. It really means a lot to me, and I just love you all for it. This chapter will be the longest chapter yet, simply because I had to find a good way to end this particular chapter. But I hope you like this. And REVIEW, please.

-Sux2budude

…

* * *

_**Chapter Nine**_

* * *

…

Becca scrunched her nose up when Stacie blew her nose into a wad of tissue once again.

"a-aand he di-didn't even believe me!" Stacie sobbed. "He thinks I cheated on him, and I was just so mad at him for thinking such a thing, and then I slapped him, and I just—," Stacie paused to blow her nose again. "I didn't mean to slap him… I was just so angry, and confused, and depressed, and it just happened."

Becca shushed the other girl for the fourth time since she arrived to Stacie's room to find her sobbing into her bed sheets. "It's okay. It'll be okay."

"No it won't!" Stacie snapped. "It won't be okay! Nothing will ever be okay again, Becca." Stacie wiped away at her tears and closed her eyes tightly. "I ended it." She whispered almost inaudibly, her voice breaking as she opened her eyes and stared at the fluffy pink teddy bear that Donald had won for her. "It would never be okay." She muttered softly as she blinked back tears of regret. She has no idea why she ended things in the first place.

Becca scooted forward to put her arm around her friends shoulder, hoping to comfort her somehow. "Maybe not now, but someday it will." she assured her friend. "It _will_ be okay… and if it makes you feel any better, Jesse will probably never talk to me either after the way I treated him."

"That just makes me feel worse… More Treble's to hate our guts."

Becca sighed softly as she continued to comfort her friend, patting her back gently.

There was a knock on the door that interrupted their mourning session, and both girls looked up at the door. "It's unlocked, isn't it?" Becca asked.

Stacie nodded as she wiped away the remainder of her tears. "It's probably not my roommate since she doesn't ever knock."

"It's open!" Becca called.

A second later, the door swung open, revealing Chloe. "Hey Staci—," she paused when she saw the two girls with red, puffy eyes. "Who died?" Chloe asked worriedly.

"The hearts of a million people."

Chloe's face softened as she approached the two girls. "Guy trouble?"

"Close enough." Becca muttered softly.

"With Treble guys." Stacie whispered under her breath.

Chloe sat down on Stacie's other side and put a comforting hand over her shoulder. "You wanna talk about it?"

Stacie sniffled as she shook her head. "I can't."

"Why not?" the redhead questioned.

"I—Uhh, it's complicated."

"It always is." Chloe countered.

Stacie sighed and glanced over at Becca for the go-ahead. Becca nodded with a tiny smile.

"Fine," Stacie muttered. "But you have to promise not to tell anyone. Especially Aubrey."

Chloe's eyebrows scrunched together in thought. "Okay," she said slowly. "But… I think I know where this is headed."

"I think you're right." Becca said.

Stacie took a deep breath, preparing herself to tell another Bella about her and Donald. She trusted Chloe, even if the redhead is best friends with Aubrey. "I was dating a Treble."

Chloe gasped, her eyes wide as she stared at Stacie. Her expression quickly changed from shocked to… awe? Wonder? Amazement?

"I knew it." Chloe muttered as she stared at Stacie, but looked a thousand miles away. "When you were talking about your lady doctor telling you to stop having sex when I told everyone that I had nodes, you kept glancing over at the Treble's."

Stacie could only nod as Chloe sat down by her other side.

"And then the night when Becca was taken down to the police station and we all waited in her room, you kept glancing at your phone, and everytime someone would stand up, you'd snap it shut and you wouldn't let anyone use it… why?"

Becca chuckled as she grabbed Stacie's phone from her nightstand and tossed it on Chloe's lap. Chloe opened Stacie's phone, and her face immediately dissolved from confused to pure, happy smiles. "Donald?" she asked with a sigh as she stared down at Stacie's phone wallpaper. It was a cute picture of Stacie, sitting in Donald's lap, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist and his lips pressed against the side of her widely smiling face.

Stacie sniffled and nodded. "We were dating for a while, and—,"

"Wait." Chloe interrupted. "You _were _dating?... as in you're _not _anymore?"

Becca nodded in confirmation for Stacie who was fighting back her tears at the mention of her and Donald _not _dating anymore.

"We broke up last night." Stacie cried. "I didn't mean to break things off with him, and it just… happened."

Chloe leaned forward to comfort Stacie. They weren't close or anything, but she liked her anyway because of her ability to be so carefree and happy all the time. Seeing Stacie like this made her sad as well. "What happened?" Chloe asked curiously as she scooted closer to Stacie's side.

Stacie blew her nose into a tissue. "He was distant with me. He wouldn't call, and I'd always get his voice mail when I call, and then he was flirting with Lily while _I _was on the bus!"

Chloe frowned deeply. "Was he cheating on you?"

Stacie swallowed hard. "I don't know."

"Well, who ended things between you two?"

"I did." Stacie whispered sadly. "I was just so angry at him for turning me into the bad guy, and accusing me of cheating on him, when _he_ was the one who was openly flirting with girls."

"But… Why would he accuse you of cheating on him?" Chloe asked.

Stacie fell silent at that. She _didn't _cheat on him. But Jason _did _kiss her, and she barely did anything to stop him until her senses came back from where it was wallowing in self-pity, and she stopped it. It _isn't _considered cheating unless she wanted to kiss Jason, and she really didn't. She was thinking of Donald the whole time. Stacie finally shook her head. "I think he saw Jason kissing me."

Chloe's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "Who the hell is Jason?"

"The idiot who my father is trying to pawn me off to."

"What?" Chloe and Becca both asked in unison.

"Jason Peterson. _His_ dad works with_ my_ dad, and _my _dad is trying to get me to date him."

"Why?" Becca asked incredulously.

"My dad basically thinks I can't take care of myself, and that Jason is capable of doing that because he's in law school."

"So you're being sold by your own father?"

"Pretty much."

Chloe shook her head in disbelief. "Did you tell Donald about that?"

"Why would I?" Stacie asked.

"Because he was your boyfriend, and maybe he would've done something about it?"

Stacie shook her head. "He'd just get mad at me."

"How would you know? It's not like he caught you and some guy kissing before, right?"

Stacie went silent.

"Right?" Chloe asked with wide eyes.

"It was at the second frat party we were at."

"You kissed a guy there?" Chloe practically screeched.

"No!" Stacie said defensively. "He kissed _me!_ And I was caught off guard, so it took a moment for me to realize what was happening before I reacted, and Donald saw the whole thing!"

Chloe pretty much had nothing else to say to comfort Stacie. She can't exactly tell Stacie that she was right, because from her point of view, Donald is right. "Did you ever catch Donald kissing another girl?"

Stacie sniffled once more. "No."

"And so you broke up with him because he thought you were cheating on him?"

Stacie stared at Chloe. From the way the redhead was saying it, Stacie herself was the one at fault. Literally, since she was the one who broke things off with Donald. "But he was being distant with me, and I thought he lost interest in me." Stacie tried defending herself. She was _not _the bad guy in this situation. Donald was the one who was being a selfish asshole and started avoiding her like she was a plague.

"Did you even talk to him about it?"

"I didn't need to."

"What do you mean you didn't need to?"

"I mean I don't have to ask him if he's losing interest because he literally told Lily that he digs Asian chicks.'

"Maybe it was just for show to throw Aubrey off track."

Stacie didn't say anything. Isn't it enough that she was feeling absolutely guilty and terrible for slapping Donald and then ending things between them? Now Chloe is just making her feel even _more_ shitty.

Chloe sighed heavily. "Look. I get it. It was just a heat of the moment kind of thing, and things just ended badly." She said softly. She wanted to comfort Stacie, so she said what anyone would say to a brokenhearted girl. "I'm sure everything will fall into place soon, and it'll all just go back to normal."

Stacie couldn't allow herself to truly believe that things will all blow over and go back to normal, because she doesn't feel normal. Nothing will ever be normal without Donald in her life.

The three girls had a max of up to ten minutes before Stacie's ringing phone interrupted the three girls.

Stacie stared down at her phone, the word "Dad" flashing across the screen. She really didn't feel like talking to the only person (aside from Jason and Aubrey) who would be ecstatic about the news of her and Donald's breakup, but she answered it anyways.

"You need some time alone?" Chloe asked softly. Stacie shook her head.

"No, I need you guys here." Both girls nodded and scooted up in Stacie's bed.

"Hello?" Stacie answered.

"Why did you hit Jason?" her dad asked immediately.

Stacie rolled her eyes, not believing her ears. "Did you seriously call to defend that asshole again?" she asked angrily.

"Watch your mouth, young lady!"

"Yes! I hit Jason because he tried to kiss me!"

"What's so wrong about a good, decent guy trying to kiss you?"

"Are you serious right now?" Stacie asked in disbelief.

"He just wants to spend some time with you."

"Daddy, you knew I was dating Donald, yet you encourage me to be with Jason?"

"Jason can—,"

"Don't!" Stacie yelled, cutting her dad off. "Just don't say that Jason can take care of me, because I don't believe that for a second."

"Why do you keep pushing him away?" Her dad yelled.

"Because I don't love him!" Stacie shot back.

"Well that Donald guy can't possibly love you enough to give you a life that you deserve."

Stacie's tears were trailing down her cheeks, and she tried to ignore the throb in her chest as Chloe and Becca both hugged her from either side.

"Well I hope you're happy then, daddy." Stacie whispered. "I hope you're happy that the only source of my happiness is gone."

"What are you talking about?"

"I ended things with him." hard as she tried, her voice broke.

Her dad was silent, probably giving her some time before he starts whooping and doing his victory dance.

"I'm sorry, sweety."

"No you're not."

"I am… I'm sorry that you're sad, but I'm not sorry that you ended things with him. You deserve better, and you deserve to live a happy life."

"Dad, I wouldn't even _be here _if it weren't for Donald!" Stacie screamed, her anger flaring up again at her dads words. "He saved me, dad! Literally!"

"What are you talking about?" Her dad asked in confusion.

Stacie wiped her tears away, and turned to stare at the two girls beside her. Becca and Chloe both offered comforting smiles.

She took a deep breath, and "A few months ago, the Barden Bella's were invited to a frat party, and I went. I wasn't feeling so well, so I walked back to campus because I couldn't find a ride home."

Becca and Chloe glanced at each other, both confused as to where this was heading. They remembered being at the party, but now that they were thinking about it, neither one of them could remember seeing Stacie there after their gig. Becca remembered seeing Donald that night. She was kind of tipsy by then, but she's pretty sure that Donald had asked her if she saw Stacie.

Stacie continued, her voice low, and her eyes filled with tears as she recalled the night that she officially met Donald. "I came up near an alleyway, and that's where a bunch of old, homeless, drunken perverts ran after me and hauled me into an alleyway." Stacie paused, and wiped away her tears while she tried to ignore the horrified looks on Becca and Chloe's faces, and the gasp from her dad. This was the first time she allowed herself to think back to that night's entire events, and it wasn't pretty because she was disgusted at the thought of those men. Stacie's dad was silent the entire time, except for what sounded like grinding teeth over the phone. "They were going to rape me, and I couldn't fight them. There were too many of them, and I was scared, and I thought I was going to die." She paused and wiped away at her tearstained face. "But then he was there… Donald came in his car, and he… he saved me… He helped me up, and he drove me back to campus, and he was there for me when no one else was there."

Silence filled the room until Stacie's dad spoke again in an oddly soft tone. "Why didn't you tell me about this, sweety?"

"Because I didn't want to talk about that night… It was the worst night of my life, aside from last night, but it was also the best night of my life because that was the night that I actually met Donald."

Stacie heard her dad sighing heavily over the phone. "I'm so sorry, Stacie… I didn't know."

"You can't possibly have known anything, dad."

"I—,"

"It's okay." Stacie whispered. "it's not your fault. It's nobody's fault."

"I wish I could've done something to help."

Stacie shrugged, "You didn't have to do anything. I just hope your happy that I'm no longer with the one reason why I'm still alive and breathing." With that, she pressed the end button and shoved her phone under her pillows before collapsing back into her friends embrace and finally allowed her tears to fall again.

"We had no idea what happened that night." Chloe whispered as she too wiped her tears away.

"It's fine… Just please don't make me retell it again."

Both girls nodded in agreement.

"No offense, but your dad is an asshole." Becca muttered, and Chloe nodded in agreement.

"None taken." Stacie muttered sadly. As bad as it was, it was true. Her dad is an asshole who believed that the world revolves around money, and royalty, and looks. Ever since her mom died, he stopped caring about love and started believing in money-equals-happiness.

* * *

…

"Dude, why are you being such a killjoy?" Bumper asked Donald when his Call Of Duty character died once again because Donald's character didn't revive him.

Donald shrugged as he stared at Bumper's bleeding character on the screen. "Just not feeling it today, I guess."

"Dude, you haven't been feeling anything for a while now. What the heck is going on with you?"

Donald shrugged again, and stayed silent.

"This has been going on for a while now. I mean, you've stopped bedding girls for a long while, but _this _pity-party-sulking bullshit is new, and it's annoying the fuck out of me."

Donald didn't even bother denying anything. What was the use, anyway?

"Dude, I love you like the bro I never wanted, but you've gotta stop this… It's not healthy, and it's affecting me."

Donald sighed heavily and chucked the controller onto the ground before getting up. "I gotta get to class." He muttered.

"You must be _so _far gone to forget that no one _has_ classes today, because _IT'S SATURDAY!_"

Donald ignored Bumper's words as he closed the door behind him and trudged out into the hallway. He almost felt bad for Bumper because as much as he hated to admit it, Bumper was right. He _is _sulking. And it sucks.

Donald went to the one place where he was sure would help with the pain. And it's _not _the nurse's office or the hospital.

* * *

…

"Stacie, what is the matter with you?" Aubrey shouted over the other girls' singing. "You are so behind on routines, more than before."

"Sorry." Stacie muttered, not sounding sorry at all as she stared at the opposite wall.

"Back from the top!" Aubrey called out before turning around again.

Their routine went on for two whole hours before the Bella's dispersed for an hour long break. "Be back here in an hour." Aubrey said to the rest of the Bella's. Stacie sighed as she grabbed her bag and headed for the door, but stopped when Aubrey called her name. "Stacie?" Aubrey called her over. "May I have a word with you?"

Stacie swallowed hard as she approached the blonde, wondering if it was a mistake to tell Chloe about her and Donald. "Yes?"she asked worriedly.

"I know that your personal life is none of my business, but is there something bothering you?"

Stacie was almost surprised by the softness in Aubrey's voice.

Still, she knew better than to tell her the truth. Whether or not Aubrey suddenly grew a heart overnight, telling her the truth was simply not an option.

"No, I'm just tired from school and… stuff."

Aubrey didn't look the least bit convinced, but she nodded anyway. "Fine. But you have to pick up on the routine… you're falling behind more than usual. I'll see you back here in an hour."

Stacie didn't wait around a second longer. She immediately left the stifling gym and headed for her room.

Stacie made it to the door, but a familiar, yet annoying voice nearly scared the crap out of her. "Need some company?"

"No, thank you." Stacie said sternly as soon as she recognized who it was.

"Are you mad at me?"

"I don't know, Jason. Maybe if you hadn't called my dad, I'd like you more, but now I just pretty much hate your guts."

"Did you know, that ninety five percent of girls often fall in love with the guys they hated?"

Stacie snorted loudly. "I must fall under the other five percent who pretty much hate the guys forever."

Jason sighed as he continued to follow her. "I just want to talk to you."

"Well, I don't. I have nothing to say to someone like you."

"But—,"

"Jason, please just take the hint and take a hike."

Jason was silent, simply staring at Stacie. "I don't get why you don't want to be with me."

Stacie sighed heavily. "Look. I'm sure there's some lucky girl out there who would love to be with you… but that girl will _never _be me."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm in love with someone already."

"He can't possibly deserve you."

"And _you _do?"

"Yes!"

Stacie scoffed loudly. "Oh my god, you sound _exactly _like my dad."

"I do not."

"Yes you do! You're ignorant, selfish, conceited, and you care about nothing but money! It makes you and my dad the perfect match. Maybe you two should get married, and leave me the fuck out of it!" Stacie closed her eyes for a moment before turning on her heels and leaving.

* * *

…

Donald fought hard to keep his eyes open, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he would lose. And lose he did.

He had just walked out of a bar, drunk off his ass, and with half his wallet gone, since he's been downing shot after shots of Jack Daniels, while gulping down an entire pitcher of beer.

He knew he shouldn't drive, but given his drunken state, he wasn't thinking straight, and now he was speeding down the highway, not really knowing which way he was going, and not really knowing where exactly to pull over and empty the contents of his stomach. His eyes hurt, his head is throbbing and spinning at the same time, and his vision is even more blurry than when he would take off his glasses. Still, his foot is too heavy on the gas pedal, and he's not entirely sure if he's even on the right lane. He doesn't realize it, but his vision is half blurrier because of the tears in his eyes. He feels like a total douchebag, and now he just wants the pain to end. He hates that he cares too much about her. He hates that he can't just let himself be happy with her.

But he doesn't hate loving her. He would rather be in pain for the rest of his life, than to not have known and felt what it's like to love her.

Still, all he sees at the moment, are the bright headlights of possibly a thousand cars, or one big car. He's jolted back to reality at the sound of screeching tires, honking car horns, brighter headlights, and crashing sounds before everything suddenly goes dark.

-DS-

* * *

…

Stacie tried her best to follow through with Aubrey's boring routine, but it was nearly impossible. It's the middle of the night, and Aubrey's obsession with winning the Acapella competition, has driven the blonde girl to extend their practices towards midnight. Stacie nearly pulled out her hair in frustration when Aubrey yelled at them to take it from the top again.

She walked back to her place in the front, and Aubrey started the countdown for them to start singing, when Stacie felt her phone vibrating harshly between her boobs. She thought about ignoring it, but it was really throwing her a lot more off base with the routines if it keeps vibrating against her rack, so she pulled it out quickly and saw Becca's name flashing across the screen. She knows that Becca was not in practice because of the big fight that went down between her and Aubrey after the semi-finals, but she also knows that Becca knows, that Aubrey would kill anyone who dares to interrupt practice, so Stacie figured it must be important. Chloe was giving her an _Aubrey is going to murder you _look, but Stacie ignored it as she answered with a loud "What's up?"

Aubrey whirled around, a look of pure shock written across her face as she stared incredulously at Stacie. "What do you think you're doing?"

Stacie winced a bit at the menacing glare from Aubrey, and she went to snap her phone shut, but her limbs, her brain and her heart stopped abruptly at Becca's panicked voice. "Stacie, there was a car accident… It's Donald. It doesn't look good." That was all Stacie heard. Everything else seemed to fade into the background, as Stacie stared ahead. Aubrey was screaming at her, but Stacie couldn't even hear her.

Her whole world came crumbling down. Stacie felt her phone slipping slowly out of her hand, but she couldn't manage to hold onto it as it went crashing into the floor, and landing with a loud shattering sound as pieces of her phone went flying in different directions. The phone battery managed to bounce up a good five feet and smacked into Aubrey's face, causing the blonde girl to gasp. "What the hell is going on?" Aubrey demanded.

Stacie's brain stopped functioning. Her head was spinning, her eyes watered, and her stomach felt funny. Every word spewing out of Aubrey's mouth was left on deaf ears for Stacie. She just felt numb, sick, dizzy, nauseous, and weak, her heart shattered inside her aching chest as her knees buckled beneath her and she slowly collapsed to the ground. She doesn't realize what was happening, but she's suddenly staring into a dark black pit of absolute darkness.

-DS-

* * *

…

Author's Note: Ugh! Cliff hangers. I hate cliff hangers, and I don't usually like leaving my readers with cliff hangers, but this chapter is waaaaaay too long. I know, it seems unrealistic for Stacie to faint at the mention of Donald being in a car crash, but as a hint for the upcoming chapters, it's not the only reason why she fainted. *Wink Wink*. You'll find out some interesting things in the upcoming chapters. Anyway, I hope you kind of liked this chapter. Maybe a reunion in the next one? Maybe. We'll see. But Review please! The more reviews I get, the faster I update. Thanks so much for reading. I love you all for doing so.

-Sux2budude


	10. Chapter 10

Pairing: Donald/Stacie

Author's Note: Hello again! Glad you made it to chapter ten. This one was just something that came to mind while watching a really sad movie that I've come to really hate. the movie, not this story.. I love this story. Anyway, not gonna say much except for R&R! and make sure you read the Author's Note at the end of this chapter. It's really important.. at least if you wanna give an opinion on a subject I've picked. Thanks for reading!

-Sux2budude

* * *

_**Chapter Ten**_

* * *

…

When she opened her eyes, she couldn't tell which side was up and which was down. The whole world seemed to be spinning off its axis, and it made her want to hurl. Stacie had to blink a few times to try to get her surroundings into focus. She caught a whiff of Chanel, and something that smelled like roses. She immediately pinpointed the scents to be from Aubrey and Chloe. Her brain felt like it was throbbing painfully inside her skull, and her lunch was slowly making its way back up her throat.

Someone was saying something, but it sounded far away. Almost an echo. "Can you hear me?" she recognized Chloe's worried voice, and she stared up at the blurry figures above her. "Stacie, can you hear me?" The redheads soft features slowly came into focus, and Stacie had to close her eyes so she could concentrate on figuring out where she was, and why the Bella's were all huddled around her worried looks etched onto their faces.

"What happened?" Stacie tried to say, but it came out as an incoherent whisper that probably only Lily could understand.

"You passed out." Chloe muttered softly as she tried to help Stacie sit up.

"What?" Stacie asked in confusion. "What happened?" she questioned.

Chloe answered for her, "We were in the middle of rehearsals when you got a phone call… you were on the phone for a bit, and then you just… blacked out."

Stacie blinked up at the others in absolute confusion. _A phone call?_ "How long was I out?"

"About two hours." Cynthia put in.

Stacie wracked her brains for any reason why she would black out, until Chloe spoke again.

"The doctor has already taken a blood sample and a few other stuff with her, and she should be back soon… she mentioned something about not enough rest, and signs of something."

Stacie looked around her and her brain finally registered that she was lying in a gurney, inside a hospital. Suddenly, it all came rushing back at once, and hit her like a ton of bricks. The phone call, Becca's worried voice, and the message. The accident. Donald was in a car accident! Stacie felt her lower lip quiver as she fought back the urge to run out of there and find Donald. Becca's voice echoed inside her head, and it took a moment for Stacie to gather herself.

"Donald." She whispered, and saw Chloe's eyes widen for a fraction of a second before going back to its original sizes as the redhead glanced warily at Aubrey who's eyebrow quirked at the mention of a Treble.

"What _about_ him?" Aubrey questioned harshly.

Stacie normally would've flinched and probably covered up her slipup with another sentence, but with Becca's words playing over and over like a broken record in her head, Stacie found herself feeling confident as she slowly got to her feet with the help of Fat Amy and Chloe. "There's been an accident..."

"And?" Aubrey asked incredulously.

"And I want to see him."

Aubrey took the opportunity to bellow loudly, "I knew it! You've been dating a Treble all along, haven't you?"

Stacie didn't bother denying it. She nodded sadly, knowing very well that she had just signed her own resignation from the Barden Bella's. "I need to see him."

"I don't think so." Aubrey interrupted sternly. "You've done enough to lose us time for our rehearsals, and I'm putting an end to it. You're too far into rehearsals to be kicked out, so I'm allowing you just this once to continue singing until the Finals and then you're out, but your relationship with Donald ends now!"

Stacie shook her head. "No." she felt a burst of confidence fill her every vein, and she didn't back down as she stared straight at the blonde girl in front of her. "I have to see him." She repeated.

Aubrey laughed humorlessly. "Don't you get it? If you take one step out that door, you are done for, and you will never get the opportunity to sing with us again… So it's either you stay here, wait for your results, and we could go back to continue practicing, or you can leave, and don't ever think of coming back to the Bella's."

Chloe stepped in and spoke softly, "Aubrey, she just woke up from passing out. You don't have to do thi—"

"Don't!" Aubrey yelled at Chloe. "I _do _have to do this."

Stacie shook her head as she backed away, throwing a grateful glance towards Chloe for standing up for her. The rest of the Bella's were silent, but they each looked sadly between Aubrey and Stacie.

"Then I guess this is it then." Stacie muttered as she pulled her IV out of her arm, ignoring the others' protests as she headed towards the door. She was exhausted and her body, as well as her throbbing head was screaming at her for some rest and a tall glass of water, but her aching heart stumped all of those. She needed to see Donald, _now._

"You can't leave!" Aubrey suddenly blurted out.

Stacie paused in her step and glanced back at Aubrey's angry, yet frantic face. "Watch me." with that, Stacie quickly made her way out the door.

* * *

-0-0-0-0-DS-0-0-0-0-

* * *

...

"Excuse me, Ms. Conrad?"

Stacie stopped shortly by the front desk, turning around to look at the lady who was calling her. A doctor.

"Yes?"

The dark-haired doctor looked closely at her. "May I ask where you're going?"

Stacie looked around for a moment. "I—I have to leave… My boyfriend was in a car accident, and I… I have to go see him." she said, completely forgetting the fact that he was no longer her boyfriend because she was the one who broke up with him. Now that she's actually saying the words, she felt the tears rise up in her eyes, and the bile rise up in the back of her throat.

The doctor didn't look too pleased. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to leave yet."

Stacie shook her head immediately. "No, I'm perfectly fine, and I have to see Donald."

"I can't hold you here, but I'm asking you to stay, because it's not healthy for you to be around things that could be in any way, excessively stressful."

"Stressful?" Stacie blinked. "What does my stress have to do with anything?"

The doctor turned to the desk behind her and grabbed a folder from it, opening and showing it to Stacie. "You're in no condition to be around things that could seriously harm you… especially the baby."

Stacie blinked at the doctor in confusion. "Baby?... What baby?" she asked incredulously.

The doctor pointed to the paragraph below the papers in the folder. Stacie stared down at the paragraph, her eyes skimming over the words before it came to rest on the word, _Fetal._

"I'm— you're telling me that I'm…"

"One month pregnant." The doctor finished for her.

Stacie's world spun around her, the air from her lungs completely escaping into some unknown part of her body as she fought to breathe. She doesn't care about the fact that her father would have her head when he finds out that his only child is pregnant. She doesn't think about the fact that this is only her first year in college, and she's too young to become a mother. She ignores the fact that she's starting to freak out, and that she was shaking from head to toe. The only thought that invaded her mind, was that she was pregnant, and there was no way in hell she was going to be able to raise her baby without the father of her baby. Her hands slowly made their way to her stomach, and her heart hammered inside her chest at the thought of a baby.

Stacie didn't think twice as she ignored the doctors protests when she turned on her heels and hurried away. She needed to get to Donald, and make sure that he's okay. She had no idea where he might be, or if he's okay, and that's the part that worried her. She tried not to come up with scenarios of what might be happening to him, or what might have happened while she was out for two hours. She needed to find Donald, and make sure he's okay, and tell him that she loves him, and that she's carrying his baby, and that she simply cannot go through this pregnancy thing alone.

* * *

-DS-

* * *

...

Stacie halted in her steps when she saw Becca running through the hallway, looking around. "Becca!" she called.

Becca's face split into a relieved expression when she spotted Stacie. "What happened? I got a text from Chloe saying that you passed out?"

Stacie nodded as she hurried forward, the two girls immediately embracing shortly before pulling away. "I'll explain later." Stacie muttered. "I need to see Donald first. Do you know what hospital he's in?"

Becca nodded. "He's here… still in the operation room."

At the mention of an operation room, Stacie's heart stopped beating for a moment. "Operation room?" Her eyes were wide and frantic.

Becca's eyes misted up a bit. Stacie was crying, but it looked like the girl didn't even realize that. "He's been in there for nearly three hours." Becca mumbled.

Stacie closed her eyes, and was surprised to feel her own tears against her lashes. She hadn't realized that she had started crying again. "Can you take me to him?"

Becca nodded silently as she led the way down the hall towards Donald's operation room.

* * *

-SD-

* * *

…

When he was five, he had broken his arm when he had fallen out of a tree in their family's backyard. He wasn't scared when his sister told him that they were going to the hospital to have his arm chopped off. When he was eight, he watched his first scary movie, and was actually laughing through most of it while his sister hid under the blanket. When he was eleven, the school bully, who was about five times bigger and three years older than him, challenged him to an afterschool fight because he had flirted with the bully's girlfriend. He hadn't been scared when he showed up to the fight. Nervous, but not scared. When he was a freshman in high school, his mom had told him that he was going to get into big trouble when she was called to his school because he got into a fight with one of the football players in the Senior class. He didn't break a sweat, even with the knowledge of his mom's wrath. When he was seventeen, he was cornered by the hockey team, and accused of kissing their captains girlfriend. He hadn't been scared when he admitted that he did. When he was nineteen, he was accused of underage drinking, and he hadn't been scared as the police cuffed his wrists and threw him in the back of the police car. He had never really been scared before.

He tried to make sense of what was happening to him at the moment. He doesn't know why he can't seem to do anything. Everything was just so confusing. He can't figure out why he can't seem to move anything, or why he can't seem to open his eyes, or why his body just felt… numb. No pain, just… nothing. His mind tried to pick up on a few things, and that's when he remembers her.

_Stacie_.

He tried to picture her face, but then, it was quickly slipping from his memory. He tried to project the feeling of her hands against his face, but it quickly disappeared. He tried to focus on the sound of her voice, but everything seemed so far away, until her voice was gone too. He tried to inhale the memory of her scent, but even that was quickly being ripped away from him. He tried to hold on to the memory of her name, but like all the other things, he loses that too. It seemed like the more he tried to keep her in his memory, the farther she gets. The more he tried to remember, the more he can't remember about her. And for the first time in all his life, he is scared beyond belief.

* * *

-DS-

* * *

…

Stacie turned around the corner of the corridor right in time to see a lady collapse to the ground. She was surrounded by the Treble Makers, a man with short, dark hair, a girl that looked to be in her late twenties, and a Surgeon. Stacie gasped loudly, as Becca arrived by her side and they watched together as the lady on the ground started sobbing loudly. The girl stooped down by the lady's' side and they sobbed into each others' arms while the man squatted by a chair and pressed his face into his hands. The Surgeon continued to stand there with a sympathetic look on his face.

Stacie didn't need to ask what was going on. She figured that the three unfamiliar faces in the room were Donald's family, and based on their reaction, plus the sad expressions on the Treble maker's faces, things did _not _go well.

"I—I think we're too late, Stacie." Becca mumbled sadly.

Becca's words seemed to bring Stacie back to earth, and she stared at Becca through her tears. She felt her heart sink to her feet, as she used the last of her strength to propel herself forward. Donald's family didn't notice her, but Jesse and Bumper definitely did, and they immediately came over to meet her. Bumper must've been really sad because he hadn't even made a jack-ass comment on how Stacie probably looked like crap at the moment.

"Hey." Jesse muttered in a voice that didn't at all sound like his own.

Stacie was still incapable of speech as she blinked up at Jesse who was now looking sadly over at Becca.

"What—," Stacie's voice broke and her tears just continued falling.

Bumper was the one who answered in a hushed tone, shaking his head sadly. "He didn't make it."

* * *

-DS-

* * *

…

He felt it. That weird feeling where everything just seemed so calm, and relaxing. Where he can almost feel his body floating. Or his soul. It scared him; not knowing what the hell was going on with him. He doesn't know if he's really flying. He just feels a little tug, and he can't pinpoint where exactly the tugging was coming from. Could be his leg, or his arm, or his head, or his chest… He ignored that the tug was most likely at his soul. It was like the inside of his insides. It was freaking terrifying.

* * *

-SD-

* * *

…

Her whole world came crashing down around her, and she immediately felt lightheaded. "No." Stacie said, looking at the Surgeon, shaking her head as the tears began bubbling to the surface again, "No, no… he's joking, right?" her voice is shaky, and she could barely understand her own jumbled words to the Surgeon as she gestured towards Bumper. "Please tell me he's just being an idiot."

When the Surgeon gave her a sympathetic look, Stacie all but collapsed to the ground without even noticing, clutching at her aching heart and stomach, while shaking her head in disbelief. "No, no… Please NO!" she cried, her entire body heaving with her sobs.

"I'm very sorry for your loss, ma'am." The Surgeon murmured awkwardly as he backed away towards the double doors of the Operation room.

Stacie felt her heart tug a bit, and she swears she felt her every vein surge forward with bursting pain.

"There's nothing they can do, Stacie." Becca muttered from her other side, and Stacie finally realized that she was on the floor, with Becca hugging her and rubbing her back comfortingly.

Stacie shook her head wildly, not able to believe that Donald was gone. _Her _Donald was gone. The father of her baby was… "No!" Stacie screamed, completely ignoring the thudding sounds of the Barden Bella's arrival, while she shot up off the ground, pushing away at Jesse and Bumpers attempts to stop her as she pushed on the double doors of the operation room and stormed inside.

Stacie's breath is heavy as she quickly glanced around the room through her tears, ignoring the protests of the three surgeons inside the room. The sound of the EKG flat-lining was enough to add another weight over her load of misery. It wasn't even a straight flat line. It was more like a wavy line that was still moving, and was followed by the sound of an endless _BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP_!

"Excuse me ma'am, but you can't be in he—," The surgeon paused because Stacie was completely ignoring him as she crossed the room to the side where the body of the boy they were trying to revive, was lying on an operating table.

Stacie felt like something that weighed about four thousand pounds was hanging off of her heart, yanking it down to flop and die at her feet as she stared at Donald's body on the operating table. She could feel her tears still forming, and her jaw clenched tightly as she let out a light sob and immediately yanked away the sheet over his body. His glasses were missing, and he had bruises, cuts, scrapes, and huge, long gashes all over his body and face, but in all honesty, he was still the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on. She took one last deep breath before leaning over his body and pulling his head up to hers, immediately pressing her forehead against his. She gasped at the unusual coldness of his usually warm skin.

"Please—," she choked out a sob. "Donald please, you can't leave me." She whispered. "Please God," she broke off and let out another cry, her shoulders shaking violently from the force of her sobs. She could hear one of the surgeons murmuring to the others to let her be, and the sound of the double doors swinging open again. She didn't need to look to know who came through the doors because Fat Amy could be heard murmuring to someone about a box of tissues.

Stacie focused back to her current mission, and she tried to channel all her thoughts, energy, and love into her words. "Donald, you— I can't—I can't live without you… so please just, fight for me. Fight for _us_." She glanced up at the EKG which was still flat-lining annoyingly, and tried to keep her voice from trembling, but it was no use. It's been trembling since the moment she got the phone call from Becca. She knew it was useless, and it was probably never going to work, but she needed to try. "You can't leave me all alone, babe." She cried. "I'm carrying your child, Donald… you're gonna be a daddy, do you hear me? You're gonna be a father." She whispered softly. "Fight for our baby!" she said a little bit louder, ignoring the little gasps from the people behind her. "Donald, I love you so much." She muttered, and pressed her lips against his chapped ones, feeling her tears roll from her own face and onto his, gently cascading down his cheek.

"Ma'am?" a surgeon spoke up from behind her. "I'm very sorry, but you really have to leave."

Stacie let out a shaky breath and squeezed her eyes shut as she gently laid Donald's head back onto the operating table. "I love you, Donald…" She whispered against his lips. "I always will." She took his hand and gently pressed the back of it against her stomach. "_We _love you." she whispered and slowly let go of his hand. She takes a step back and glared at the EKG through her tears, when she felt a hand wrap around her own. When she looked behind her, she's thoroughly surprised to see her Dad standing there, with tears evident in his eyes. "It's time to go, sweety." He muttered sympathetically. She nodded numbly and let her dad pull her away from the love of her life. She sniffled lightly and mournfully followed him to the door where the Barden Bella's including Aubrey, the Treble Makers, and Donald's family all stood watching her with sad eyes. Stacie chanced a glance at Aubrey, and was surprised to see the blonde girl wiping away at her tears too.

Just as Stacie was about to push the double doors open, a loud _BEEP_ rang through the operation room, making her heart skip several beats, and her own breath to hitch inside her throat. Stacie immediately froze in her step. She couldn't be sure if it was just wishful thinking.

_BEEP!_

Gasps echoed around the room as Stacie whirled around and stared in disbelief at the EKG. The flat line formed a moving triangular line that could be seen from her place, and she felt her heartbeat speed up at the sight. Her eyes immediately dropped down to Donald's face as another heart-wrenching _BEEP _rang, the surgeons immediately jumping into action as they hurried forward. One of them barking out orders to the other two, checking for Donald's pulse, and other medical terms that she didn't really give a damn about as she just watched in disbelief as everything unfolded before her, until finally… Stacie broke into sobs when she saw with her own eyes, Donald's chest moving slowly.

* * *

-DS-

* * *

…

Author's Note: CLIIIIIFF HANGER, HANGING FROM A TREEEEEEEEEEE! Okay, I'm terribly sorry for this cliffhanger, but I promise I'm working on the next chapter. It'll be up in a bit, so don't worry. Anyways, I know I said that there might be a reunion for this chapter, but it went out of control for the most part, so I decided to extend the reunion a tad bit. I'm terribly sorry if you were looking forward to a reunion. Also, I just thought I'd kill Donald and bring him back to life for this chapter. And before you all say that it is impossible, and clichéd and too cheesy, or too unrealistic, let me explain something that I recently researched on.

Some doctors can bring you back to life depending on the type of death you suffered and the amount of time you were dead. For example, a person could be considered dead if he has no pulse (heart is not beating) or could be considered dead when there is no sign of brain activity (pupils remain ignorant of the amount of light entering the eye). Most people who have been saved from death have spent no more than a couple of minutes on the other side. It is scientific rather than spiritual but it is a way of coming back to life  
if you are close to that parson then you can see them

A person CAN COME BACK TO LIFE after 1-3 days of his death but the chances are that the person would have lost most of his memories. This kind of death would be due to destruction of neurons(Brain Cells), and the reason of rebirth will be repair of some of the lost chain of cell. As Brain controls all the activities in the body the loss of even a single chain of Brain cell can cause irregularity in the signals of the Brain. Which can be anything including LOSS OF HEART BEAT FOR SOME TIME, in this time a person can mistakenly be announced DEAD. After the repair of Brain cells after two or three minutes the body starts to regain its power which may take 1-3 days(as said earlier).

NOW I know it says that a person can come back to life _after _1-3 days, but let's ignore that fact, shall we?

BUT! Yes, there is a BIG _BUT. _And that BUT is going to wait a bit. First, I'm going to ask for your opinions. Each and every one of the readers. If you would please leave a suggestion, or an opinion, it would be much appreciated. Here's the question: Would you like another branch of angst, or would you like for Stacie and Donald to unite already? I personally think they should reunite. And by angst, I mean a Donald-can't-remember-shit kind of angst. Like a serious kind of Memory-Loss-Donald. And No, it won't be like the vow. I actually have a REALLY good plot in mind for the uniting part of Donald and Stacie.

What do you think?... too angsty? If so, please review and let me know.

Thanks so much for reading again, and I love you all for reviewing the previous chapters… Please review!

-Sux2budude


	11. Chapter 11

Title: With You

Pairing: Stacie/Donald

* * *

A/N: First off, I want to apologize for this _extremely_ late update. I blame Sony Vaio for that since my laptop's system crashed a few weeks ago. As for the memory loss question from the author's note of the previous chapter, I've decided to hold it off for another story. This will be the chapter where Stacie and Donald finally reunite. Anyway, this is chapter eleven. Hope you all like it.

-Sux2budude

* * *

Chapter Eleven:

* * *

...

When she's _finally_ allowed to see him (after hours of waiting impatiently and arguing with the nurses), Stacie stands outside his hospital room for ten whole minutes, taking deep breaths and willing herself to be strong and to keep herself from falling apart in front of him.

She finally opens his door and slips inside his room, and all her _'Don't cry'_ and '_keep it together, Stacie_' chants fly out the window, and she's left with her heart breaking inside her chest at the sight before her.

He's lying in a gurney with all sorts of machines, monitors, and tubes attached to him. His face is still covered in bruises, scrapes, and fresh bandages, and his left leg is elevated in some sort of advanced mechanism she's only seen in a movie once.

She feels her tears welling up in her eyes at seeing him so helpless. Motionless. He looks _so_ much younger with his eyes closed and with his usually perfectly curled hair sticking out adorably in odd angles around his bandaged forehead.

She slowly approaches him, and she puts a hand to her mouth to keep herself from letting out a sob at seeing his face up close. She gently places a hand to his bruised cheek and runs it slowly up his face to run through his soft hair, and back down. Her thumb gently moves across his lips and she leans forward and presses her lips gently against his. Her heart aches inside her chest because everytime she had done this, he would always kiss her back. But he remains motionless, save for the even rise and fall of his chest as he breathes softly.

"I'm so sorry, Donald." she whispers as she stands back to look at his face. It pains her to see him this way. To see him weak, helpless, and hurt, and it breaks her heart to think of all the pain he must be in, or _will_ be in when he wakes up, so she tries to think of something else. She manages a smile as she slowly sits by his hip, her upper body facing him. She takes his hand in hers and presses it against her abdomen, much like she did when she was trying to will him back to life. She shudders at the thought of him being lifeless and she pulls the thought away to focus on her task at hand.

Her own voice sounds different to her. It's about an octave higher, and a whole load softer than usual. "You're going to be a daddy." she whispers to Donald. "I found out a few hours ago and though my father seems unhappy about the news, he'll have to accept it because I've already made my decision... And I want to keep it." she squeezes his hand gently. "With you... If you'll have me again."

"I'm sure he'd love that."

Stacie nearly jumps off the bed as she whips her head around to see who had said that. "Oh... uhh, I didn't hear you come in." she murmurs as she stares at the girl from earlier who she had figured was a relative of Donald's.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," the girl says as she crosses the room and holds out her hand. "I'm Daphne. Donald's older sister."

Stacie can definitely see the similarities between the two. Same wavy black hair (though Daphne's hair is waist length), same colored eyes, and the same nose. She also has the same kind smile as her brother's.

Stacie gently places Donald's hand back to his side and slips off the bed, smiling warmly as she shakes the girls hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you... I'm Stacie."

"I know." at Stacie's questioning look, Daphne shrugs with a little smile as she squeezes next to Donald's bed and places a kiss on his forehead. "He told me about you." she says as she turns back to Stacie.

"Really?"

Daphne nods, "And I'm thoroughly impressed with your works."

"Works?"

Daphne looks back at her brother with a smile, "You managed what no other girl could do and tamed the untamable Donald Henderson."

"I'm not sure if I really had anything to do with that... I just dated him."

Daphne shakes her head, "You kept him on the tips of his toes... He said that you were God's gift to him."

Stacie barely manages to hide her blush. "He said that?" she questions.

Daphne nods, "He's always been a cocky idiot, but since he dated you, he matured."

Stacie manages to crack a smile at that, feeling a warm feeling spread across her chest. "I don't know why I ever let him go." she says sadly.

Daphne shakes her head, "Because he's an idiot."

At that, Stacie furrows her eyebrows confusedly.

"Did he at some point, towards the end of your relationship begin to seem like he's avoiding you?"

Stacie nods. "Yeah."

"And did he start acting all interested in another girl in front of you?"

Stacie nods again, remembering the time he was openly flirting with Lilly on the Treble Maker's bus. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

Daphne shakes her head and looks over at her sleeping brother once more. "Selfless idiot." she mutters softly, but loud enough for Stacie to hear her.

"Did he say something about it?" Stacie questions.

Daphne heaves a sigh as she gestures towards the chairs at the foot of Donald's bed.

They both take a seat before Daphne starts talking again. "Donald has always been sort of insecure in a way... Yes, he's cocky and sometimes an ass, but... Inside, he's this person who's scared of having his heart broken. He's had enough of that to last a lifetime." Daphne shakes her head, "He was twelve when our parents divorced."

Stacie blinks confusedly at Daphne, having never known that about his parents. Donald had never really said much about his parents before. Actually, he never talked about his family. Every time she brought the subject up, he'd always change it. She didn't really think much of it, but now she's extremely curious to know more about his family.

Daphne continues, and though she's there in the room, her eyes seem unfocused like she was far away. "I was sixteen when it happened... Donnie was angry about it for a long time, but it got better over the years, up until our mom remarried... It was then when Donald started pulling away from anything and everything that could hurt him... He'd always call me for advice, or just to talk." Daphne fidgets with the hem of her light blue knee-length dress. "He stopped coming over for the Holidays. Instead, he spent his Holidays alone or with a friend." Daphne heaves a heavy sigh as she leans back in her seat and folds her hands in her lap.

"Every year is the same with him... I'd call him and beg him to come home for the Holidays. Sometimes he'd agree, and then he'd make up some dumb excuse and cancel on us at the last minute because he knows we can't do anything about it then. And when he _doesn't _say yes, it's because he knows I won't be able to get here to him and drag his ass home... He'd always say he has nothing against me..." Daphne trails off for a few moments, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. Stacie can tell that the girl is trying her best to hold herself together, but she's failing because she can see a tear manage to escape her eye and cascade down her cheek. She wants to say something to comfort Donald's sister, but she's not exactly sure what to say. She feels terrible for not knowing this about Donald. They'd been dating for a couple of months and she had no idea that his parents were divorced. She makes a mental note to find out everything about him when he wakes up... _If_ he accepts her.

Daphne wipes her tear away quickly and manages to smile a bit. "What he doesn't know, is that I'm hurting too... I hate that my parents got divorced, and I hate that I have to face them alone every year... _Not once_ did Donald accompany me home for the Holidays since the day he left home for College. He'd call my dad and say Hi every now and then, but my mom..." Daphne shakes her head again. "My mom is the one person in our family who Donald won't speak to. He _refuses_ to call her, he _won't_ answer her calls, he runs away when he sees her, and he'd rather die than meet our mom's husband. He_ still_ hadn't met the man."

Daphne gets up and stares at her brothers sleeping form for a minute, both just listening to the loud beeping sound of the EKG. "He hates my mom the most because she's the one who promised him that she would always be there for him..." Daphne says softly. "And then one night she had a fight with my dad and she walked out on us. She left for six years and all of a sudden, she's back in our lives, acting like nothing ever happened. Like she hadn't scarred my baby brother so badly, to the point where he'd close himself off to anything and everything. And he told me, that he would _never _love anyone because love can be the most _amazing_ feeling in the world, but it can also bring about the worst kind of pain you'll ever feel. That's why it surprised me so much when he called me one night and told me that he might be in love with a girl named Stacie."

Stacie smiles over at Donald and she wishes she could kiss him then. She wishes a lot of things, but none of those things can happen in one moment, so she focuses back to the story at hand.

Anyway, when Donald hit College, he hit it hard. Partying, and sleeping around to forget about everything he had to go through... I'd always try to get him to visit our mom or dad's place, but he can never bear seeing our mom with our step-dad." Daphne chuckles lightly with a shake of her head. "He hates it when I refer to our mom's husband as our step-dad... He'd always say that he's my step-dad, not his."

Stacie finally understands why he is who he is... Why he does the things he does, and why he did the things he did. Because of his upbringing. His childhood was ruined, and he's really just this guy who walks around, pretending to be happy when he's really hurting deeply inside.

"So you see, when Donald has reason to believe that he'll somehow get hurt in some way, he pulls away... He makes up excuses to get out of seeing you." Daphne says with a shrug.

Stacie is a bit confused at that, so she asks, "Did he think I was going to hurt him?"

"I think he thought you would leave him for someone better."

Stacie's eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Why would he think that?"

Daphne sighs heavily and looks over at her brother's sleeping form. "He'll probably want to strangle me for telling you, but I think you deserve an explanation as to why he acted the way he did before you finally broke up with him."

Stacie begins to wonder if Donald tells his sister everything. Daphne seems to know a lot that she doesn't. She gestures for Daphne to continue..

"He called me about two weeks ago, asking for advice."

"For what?" Stacie asks curiously.

"He said he walked in on a conversation you were having with your dad over the phone on loudspeaker, and being the curious idiot he is, he eavesdropped on said convo."

Stacie begins to figure out where this was headed, but she wants to make sure, so she waits and listens quietly.

"And then he said he heard your dad talking about your future and how you deserved someone better. Someone who could provide for you. He mentioned that your dad said something about someone named Judas or something."

Stacie nods as she follows along, finally pinpointing the exact day she had that conversation with her dad over the phone. "My dad was trying to push me to date that idiot, Jason."

Daphne shrugs, "So being the insecure person that he is, he begins to have these ridiculous thoughts of how your dad might be right. He said you deserved better than him, and he asked me for advice on what to do... So I told him to do what _he_ thinks is best for the both of you... Now when I said that, I was thinking along the lines of keeping himself in check, you know? Like, treating you the way you want to be treated. But I guess he was thinking of something entirely different because he started saying that maybe you'd be better off without him."

Stacie felt the tears welling up in her eyes, finally understanding Donald's behavior in the week prior to their breakup. "So the distant and flirting act was all just a way to get me to break up with him? So I'd find someone better? More deserving?"

Daphne nods slowly. "I told him he was being an idiot and that he should just talk to you about it... But he refused to listen to me, and going on about how your decision should be despite of him."

Stacie stays silent, wanting to both strangle and kiss Donald for being a selfless idiot. For caring about what her dad says. "Well, he can't do anything anymore about my decision." Stacie says sternly. "I'm carrying his child, and whether he likes it or not, he's stuck with me forever. And if he even suggests that our baby deserves better, I'll smack him."

Daphne grins widely, "I'll hold him down while you smack some senses into him."

They continue to talk about other little things for about half an hour until Daphne has to leave to send make a phone call to her boss about getting leave from work for a week or two.

Stacie spends the next few moments alone with Donald, holding his hand and talking to him and slipping in little kisses all over his face until she hears a knock on the door. She turns to see her dad slip inside the room. He glances over at Donald and stares at his sleeping form for a moment. "Can we talk outside?" he asks Stacie who looks over at Donald before nodding to her dad. She kisses Donald's cheek before following her dad outside.

Her dad looks nervous for some reason, and it makes her nervous as well. They both take a seat outside in a waiting room, before Stacie's dad begins to talk.

"I uhh, I bumped into Jason in the cafe down the street."

Stacie groans loudly as she shakes her head, "Not this again, Dad _please_! I told you before, and I'm telling you again... I, am _never_ going to feel anything for Jason, or anyone else for that matter."

"That's not what I was gonna say." her dad interrupts.

"Then what did you want to say?"

He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment before finally speaking. "I actually wanted to tell you that... you were right."

This manages to stop Stacie from rolling her eyes. "What exactly was I right about?"

"You can take care of yourself... You don't need someone who's rich and set for life to do that for you. You're more than capable of taking care of yourself, and I'm sorry."

Stacie goes to speak but he puts up a hand to stop her.

"Before you say anything, just let me get this off my chest."

Stacie nods for him to continue. He takes a deep breath before speaking again.

"After the conversation we had over the phone when you told me about the day you really met Donald... I started to think that maybe he doesn't have to deserve you. And though no one on this planet deserves my baby girl, maybe he loves you enough to give you the best he can. In a way, you and Donald both remind me of your mom and I."

Stacie quirks a questioning brow at. her dad, "How so?"

"Your grandfather wasn't exactly ecstatic about me either at first. And your mother and I broke up because your grandfather didn't approve of our relationship. And in that entire four months without your mother, I was miserable... Then one day, I saw her with someone else, and it nearly killed me. And that pain..." he shakes his head with a bitter look. "That feeling is not something I want you to feel... For a long time I held a grudge against your grandfather for it. For making me feel so miserable during the breakup. I hated him... But he finally came around." he pauses to take Stacie's hand in his. "And then I realized that I would rather spend the rest of my life learning to accept the boy you love, than to have you hate me for a moment."

Stacie stares at her dad, seeing him in a whole new light. She always thought her parents had been together since they met. She's never heard this side of their story.

"You are all I have left." he whispers softly as he gives her hand a gentle squeeze.

"I know... So are you going to stop pushing me to date Jason?"

He smiles, "I only did that because I thought you'd be happier if you had someone to give you everything you would ever want and need."

"Dad, I already had everything I needed... A wonderful father who loves and cares for me, and an amazing boy who loves me more than any other boy is capable of."

Her dad nods with a smile, "I know that now... After witnessing what happened today in the operation room, I realized that you were already going through so much pain, and that it was too late to stop you from loving him... So if you're thinking of pursuing another relationship with him, then..." he trails off for a moment and Stacie can feel her nerves buzzing all over the place. It doesn't matter whether or not her dad would approve of her relationship with Donald. She was determined to be with the father of her baby. But it would be a whole lot better if her dad approves.

Finally, he continues, "Then I'll be with you the rest of the way." he smiles. "And I guess the thought of a grandchild sounds pretty thrilling... I'm not getting any younger."

Stacie smiles widely as she steps toward her dad and hugs him tightly. "Thank you, dad."

"Your welcome, Sweety... And I love you."

Stacie grins, feeling tears of joy welling up in her eyes, "Love you too, dad."

-DS-

* * *

...

Stacie spent an hour in Donald's room after her dad left to get changed. It took him twenty minutes trying to convince Stacie to go back to her dorm room and get some sleep before he finally gave up.

It was an hour later when Donald's mom and step-dad enters his room that Stacie finally allowed herself to go back to her dorm and get some rest. Lord knows she needed it, but the thought of leaving Donald all by himself, terrifies her. But she has to think for two now, and it's important that she's well rested.

She bends down and kisses his cheek, whispering in his ear that she loves him before she leaves with a smile and a nod at his mom. She's barely out the door when she hears his mom's soft voice from behind her.

"Excuse me, Stacie?"

Stacie stops abruptly in her steps and turns back to see Donald's mom blinking at her. "Yes?"

"May I have a word with you?" Donald's mom asks softly, her eyes flickering down to her abdomen and back to her face.

"Sure."

"My daughter spoke about you before... And she says you're the first girl Donald has actually dated since his high school years."

Stacie blushes a bit but she nods, feeling nervous about the direction of this conversation. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." they shake hands and smile warmly at each other, right before Donald's mom who introduces herself as Julia Greene, adds weight to their conversation with one question.

"You're pregnant with Donald's child?"

"Yes." Stacie nods, "It wasn't planned or anything and we were careless about protection, and-"

"You think I don't like this?" Julia asks, cutting Stacie off.

"I uhh, I don't know... I figured you'd just ignore the situation."

"Are you insane?" Julia laughs. "I mean, I don't really love the fact that my son got a girl pregnant out of wedlock, but it's certainly not going to stump my excitement about finally getting a grandchild!"

Stacie smiles at Julia's excitement. This is certainly a surprise, but it's a good one. She actually thought Donald's mom would put up more of a hassle than her dad, but she's actually really accepting of the situation. Stacie ignores the fact that this excitement that Julia has, probably has something to do with her need to reconcile with her son, and that she needs this out to get out of having to be his grudge-target.

"I always wanted grandchildren, but Daphne didn't want to rush into anything, and I really do understand that, but.. I'm certainly not getting any younger."

Stacie smiles softly at the older woman, "My dad said that too."

"Well, if he's around my age, then he's right."

There's a short silence before Julia sighs and puts a hand on Stacie's shoulder. "I'm happy to finally meet the girl who managed to change Donald... And I'm glad you're the one carrying his child. I can't say I know you, but any girl who can change my son the way you did, is the perfect girl for him, in my book... So if you ever need anything, please let me know." she takes a calling card from her purse and hands it to Stacie who smiles softly at the older woman.

"Thank you." Stacie tries not to think of how this is probably just a hoax, a way to win Donald's trust back. A way for Julia to win back the son she left all those years ago. She doesn't dwell on the thought for long, and she only smiles as Julia shakes her head.

"No... Thank _you_. For giving me something I've always wanted." she nods at Stacie's abdomen. "And I hope you understand that from now on, I'll be taking care of anything you'll need for the baby. Prenatal Vitamins, hospital checkups, anything at all, I'll take care of the financial part."

"You really don't have to, I can manage on my-"

"I won't take no for an answer." Julia says sternly yet softly, effectively getting her point across.

"Thank you." Stacie says, suddenly feeling the urge to burst into tears. 'Oh dear Lord, the pregnancy hormones are already starting to take over.' she thinks.

"Anytime."

The two women seperate with happy smiles on their faces.

-DS-

* * *

...

Stacie barely manages to get to the bathroom before she's hurling. She's on her knees, leaning over the toilet seat as she empties out the contents of her stomach. When she's done, she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and flushes the toilet as she groans out loud, feeling exhausted, and groggy. She immediately gets up off the floor and heads back to her room to grab her towel for a quick shower before she visits Donald again.

...

"Stacie!"

Stacie whirls around when she hears Beca's voice calling her from across the hospital hall. "Beca! What are you doing here?"

"Didn't you hear?" Beca says as she runs to meet her, and immediately wrapping Stacie in a hug.

Stacie furrows her eyebrows as Beca pulls away with a huge smile. "Hear what?"

"Donald woke up... Aubrey called me. She said he's been asking for you."

Stacie's eyes widen for a moment, momentarily wondering why Aubrey was visiting Donald, before she's taking off down the hall towards Donald's room.

"Your welcome!" she hears Beca call, and she quickly turns to call back a thank you before she's sprinting to Donald's room.

When she finally arrives at the door to his room, she stops to catch her breath, her mind working overtime to accommodate all the things she wants to tell Donald. As she slowly opens the door, the first thing she sees are flower bouquet's of all colors, shapes, and sizes, filling his room. She wishes she had had time to stop at a florist and grab him a bouquet, but everything running through her mind is wiped away completely when she sees him. He's staring blankly at the ceiling, his eyes unblinking, and his breathing slow and even.

"Donald." she breathes softly, her heart expanding, soaring, thumping, and longing for the sight before her. He finally seems to notice that he's not alone, and his eyes widen when he sees her. He winces as he goes to sit up but she stops him as she quickly crosses the room and gently pushes him to lie back down. "Stay down." she murmurs softly, her eyes collecting tears as he winces again. She doesn't bother with wiping her tears away as she stares at his face. "You scared the crap out of me yesterday." she cries softly.

"Stacie, I'm so sorr-"

"Shhh," she shushes him, shaking her head to stop him from speaking through his hoarse voice. "Don't apologize."

"But I-"

"Don't." she says sternly. "Daphne told me everything."

"Ev- Everything?"

Stacie nods as she gently runs a finger up the side of his face. "I'm so sorry, Donald... I should've realized sooner that you weren't acting right."

"Stacie," Donald says putting up a hand. "Before you tell me that I had no right in making that decision for you, I want you to know that I did it for you."

"I know... I know you did it for me, but you're wrong. I don't want anything or anyone else in my life, but _you!_"

"I know, but I wanted you to have a better future, and for me to have a clean conscience, and I'm sorry I did it without your knowing, and-"

"I'm pregnant." Stacie cuts him off.

Donald's eyes widen for a second. His eyebrows disappearing under the bandage around his forehead as he stares at her, speechless. Stacie feels extremely nervous because maybe Donald doesn't want to be a father yet. Is he?

"What?" he asks blankly, his voice shaking, though she's not sure if it's out of joy, or fear, or dread, or-

"You're pregnant?" he asks loudly. "Are you sure?" there's a ton of emotion on his voice, and it may or may not be a good emotion because his face remains impassive, save for his widened eyes.

"Yes, I'm a hundred percent sure." Stacie manages through bated breath. "I found out just yesterday, that I'm one month pregnant."

Donald is silent as he stares at her unblinkingly. Before she could comprehend what's going on, he's sitting up in his gurney, and hugging her to him. "I'm sorry." he whispers softly, confusing her. "I'm so sorry... You just started college and I've ruined your future, and-"

She cuts him off by pulling herself forcefully away from his arms.

"What are you talking about?" she asks incredulously.

He blinks once, "I'm making your life harder than ever... You have college and everything, and now you have to worry about a baby, and you're not going to have the same freedom and body as you do now-"

She knows he's doing it again, and she want to slap him and kiss him for thinking about her well being at such a time. "Donald, I don't care about any of that." Stacie says, cutting him off again. "I don't care about what I'll look like for nine months, I don't care about whether or not I'll be able to go out after I give birth, I don't care if I'll have bags under my eyes, or that I'll be waking up at the asscrack of dawn to throw up my insides, or that I'll have monster cravings at odd hours of the night, or that my stomach will be adorning stretch marks for the remainder of my life... I don't care about any of that." she pauses to take his hands in hers and places them against her stomach. "All I care about is us. And I want _this._.. I want this with _you_. I want to have a baby _with_ you. I want to have a family with you. I want to have a future with you. I want to have long lingering kisses with you. I want to have short, meaningless arguments with you. I want to be happy... And I know in my heart that I'll only have that, _with you_."

Donald smiles happily as he takes her face in his hands, feeling extremely unmanly with the tears collecting in his eyes, but he doesn't give a damn about that. Everything he cares about is right here, in front of him. And he knows he wants _this._ Part of him wishes he could give her something more, but most of him wants to be selfish. He wants this too. He wants everything that she wants. He wants a family of his own too. They're both young and all, but in his heart, being without her for a week and a half, is a week and a half too long. And he can't help the smile on his face as he pulls her into his arms and kisses her with all the love he feels in his heart. "I love you, Stacie." he whispers against her lips. "Part of me wanted to give you a better life. A better partner in life. Someone who could give you everything you'll ever want... But right now, I don't want to do any of that... I don't want anyone to take you away from me... I don't want to see you with anyone else. I don't want to spend the rest of my life wondering what my life would've been like if I had just stayed with you... I want you to be mine, and only mine."

"Donald," Stacie goes to speak but he keeps talking.

"I want to be the guy you tell all your problems to."

"Donald," she tries again, but he cuts her off again.

"I want to be the one to hear you say "I love you" to.

"Donald-" Her voice gets higher each time she calls his name

"I want to be the guy who walks into a room full of people and proudly point you out and say, 'That's her'.

"Donald-"

"I want you to be mine-"

"DONALD!"

Donald blinks rapidly at her as if just realizing his own ramblings and that she's been calling his name a few times now. "Huh?"

Stacie chuckles as she pulls his face closer to hers in pure joy and excitement. "I've always been yours, and only yours, just as you have been mine, and only mine."

His eyes turn soft and he pulls her hand up to his face and kisses the back of it. "Past two weeks never happened?" he suggests softly with a smile.

"What two weeks?" Stacie smiles as she wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him to her.

Donald can't help the gigantic grin on his face as he scoots to the side and let's her slip onto his bed next to him. Just as he's about to ask her if they were a couple again, she leans forward and silences him with a kiss. He figures this kiss is his answer.

Stacie pulls away for air a minute later, and she gently presses her forehead against his, her eyes still closed in pure bliss. "For the record," she mutters softly, pulling her eyes open to stare into his. "I love you too."

"Always." Donald smiles.

"Forever."

-SD-

* * *

...

(TWO MONTHS LATER)

(Let's just say, Donald's injuries from the accident are mostly nonexistent at this point, shall we?)

-Stacie:

We started as an accident. A coincidence. A disaster. But we grew together as one. A team. A couple. Partners. Lovers. We were inseparable. Until our separation... We learned that life is not worth living without that one person who happens to be your purpose for waking up everyday. When you find that someone you know you can't be without, hold on tight, and never let go.

I was fortunate enough to have found someone like my Donald. And I lost him once (The breakup), and almost lost him permanently (The hospital incident). And that was when I realized, that no matter how hard things get, or how complicated he makes things, I can never let him go... Because with him, my life is complete.

Stacie turns over on her side and stares into his eyes. The eyes she loves so much.

"No one else will do." she whispers against his lips.

"Well I should hope so." Donald chuckles.

"I love you." Stacie adds, and Donald pulls back a bit to look at her closely.

He's a bit worried about her random- out of the blue- sentiments. "You okay?"

Stacie rolls her eyes at her boyfriend, "I tell you that I love you, and you ask me if I'm okay?"

"Sorry." Donald whispers quickly, knowing very well how her moods seem to change in a matter of milliseconds. "I love you too." he smiles before placing a chaste kiss against her lips, and lies back down to wait for her to ask him. Sooner or later she would say it. He's told her countless times before to stop trying to fight it, but she still tries.

There's a momentary silence before she finally gives up the fight and pokes him in the chest.

"What?" he mutters, cracking one eye open to look at her.

"Your child is seriously craving a gigantic bacon cheeseburger right now." she says apollogetically.

He groans a bit, but smiles and looks at her bedside clock, before pulling himself out of bed to get ready for the half hour long drive down to Burger King. "I knew there was an alternate reason for your sudden verbal display of affections." he laughs as he shrugs on one of his hoodies that she took from his apartment.

"And a jar of pickles." Stacie adds with a sheepish grin.

"I'll be back soon." he kisses her forehead, chuckling lightly when she tries to cling to his shirt a bit longer, he grabs his car keys and heads towards the door with a smile on his face.

He's skeptical at times, but right now, he knows they can do this. As long as they have each other.

"And a bottle of rootbeer!" Stacie yells out through the window as he unlocks his car door.

"That's unhealthy!" Donald calls up to her, watching as she sticks her head out and glares at him. "Uhh, I mean I love you!" he says quickly.

Stacie smiles lovingly at him, feeling bad for waking him up at two in the morning to help her fall asleep, and then making him drive down to Burger King for a bacon cheeseburger. "I love you too!"

-The End!- not really ;)

(Sequel up next- read the Author's Note below for a little heads up on what's next for this story.)

* * *

A/N: I know, the disappointment of an ending sucks, but fret not. I just wanted to end this because I'm trying to stick with it's summary which states that this is their life throughout the _year,_ meaning one year, but I think I've exceeded that. So for those who want more, lookout for the sequel to this story. It'll be called "One Day At A Time" and it'll mostly be Stacie's difficult pregnancy stage, starting from the difficulties of moving around with a giant stomach, to the cravings, to the crazy hormones, to the unbelievable mood swings, to Donald's momentary immaturity, right into the birth of their child, and so on. So if you wanna read about that, look out for the sequel to this. (*wink wink*)

It'll have great potential for lovey-dovey moments, to the playful bantering, to the momentary weaknesses, the wild arguments, the crying, the laughing, the playing, the swearing, the fighting, and so on. Think of all those amazing untold stories! You know you want to read them. Anyway, the sequel will be updated regularly, so don't think of this as an ending. Think of it as a chapter that pauses one story and starts another, huh?! Review and let me know if you want to read said sequel or not. ;)

More of the story, like the Barden Bella's acceptance of Stacie and Donald's relationship, as well as Jesse and Beca's relationship is up in the sequel called _One Day At A Time. _Thanks again and please REVIEW!

-Sux2budude


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